Ships and Computers
by Metallic Star
Summary: Canon divergence of Meta Knightmare Returns. During his attempt to find out more about Star Dream, Meta Knight quickly finds an obstacle in the form of Galacta Knight, who despises his prison and refuses to return without a fight. After striking up a deal with Nova, the two warriors must learn to work together long enough to get what they both desire. Freedom and knowledge.
1. (G)lance My Way

It was a blur, his entire life. He would think about it often.

There was always something about needing more strength for one thing or another, and several things ending because of him, but that was it. The rest of his memories included nothing but that accursed crystal, and being stuck.

Feeling...trapped.

But he was free now, though he would still get that urge to **destroy**.

 _And that couldn't be true strength,_ he would muse, _That was only raw power_. _Was it really what I wanted?_

 _Of course! I'm the strongest. Or, at least I was supposed to be._

 _...I used to be the strongest._

 **Who took that the title away?**

That bat...the one with the Golden Sword. He had...fought differently than Galacta Knight did.

 _Was that the kind of power I wanted, then? Controlled, efficient, skilled?_

 _No, that was **boring.** What I have is just perfect, isn't it?_

 _Then why did I **lose** against that **bat?**_

 _It was sheer luck._

 _Was it really?_

 _Yes._

 _No..._

 _ **Yes.** He wasn't the one stuck in Crystal for who knows how long...he had the advantage of coming freshly trained and prepared for battle._

 _Perhaps...but there's something overlooked._

 _...What?_

 _We're clearly the strongest, but are what about the most skilled?_

 _Skilled...?_

 _Was there a difference between such... **abstract** concepts?_

 _Skills...strength...power...smarts...speed..._

Galacta frowned. What did it matter? He was able to break out of the Crystal with strength. Even if it wasn't _skill_ that let the bat beat him, he was free. He could do what he wanted...

And he wanted to sleep right now. He was so tired...

The pink knight closed his eyes and laid back against the hard wall, forcing himself to ignore the nagging instinct to test his powers and _relax._ He wanted to stop fighting, as surprising as that might sound.

He had grown obsessed, probably more so than he ever had been, even managing to break out of his seal at one point, when it felt weaker for whatever reason. He had immediately set out to train more, accomplishing this by destroying everything in his path to prove.. _something_.

He went along with that blind mindset for a while before realizing that it was the exact same one that caused him to get sealed in the first place. He decided it would be best to stay under the radar.

Galacta Knight roamed the galaxy then, planet-hopping to keep away from Nova's gaze. He still trained vigorously when he was able, and when he did, entered the mindless brutality that came with it. He learned several new skills when doing so and gleefully kept them well-used. His only fear was being caught up by Nova, though he never was.

Thus, this endless cycle continued, and Galacta was all too happy to continue it. Anything was better than being imprisoned, and this life was not at all bad.

But it wouldn't keep up for much longer.

* * *

 ** _Extra-dimensional road... Booting..._**

 _Huh? What was that...?_

 ** _3..._**

 _Trying to sleep..._

 ** _2..._**

 _That voice wouldn't stop. What was it? Nova?_ He stood defensively, lance and shield raised.

 _ **1...**_

A large star-shaped portal opened in front of him, and a golden eye-like thing looked at him. The voice was too different and Nova had no yellow eye. "What are you?" Galacta Knight demanded, not a bit sleepy anymore, but it didn't even acknowledge him.

 _ **...Begin!**_

The portal began to surround him. The Warrior was able to resist the pull for a few seconds, but it was too strong. Galacta Knight wrapped his wings around himself in defense as it transported him to an unknown place...

* * *

It was only a few seconds later that he was able to move again. He spread his wings suddenly and widely in order to scare off any potential attackers.

A quick once over of the room told him three things. One- he's never been to this high tech place before. Two- the knight who had beaten him before was there, and he looked ready to battle, if somewhat surprised. And three- Because of that fact, the urge to prove his strength came back with full force once more.

He hated this...

Turning so he can at least try to not give in to the _**blood-lust** , _the feathered knight caught sight of the golden eye that brought him here. Anger overtook him. He had wanted to avoid this in the first place!

 _ **Your fault.**_

He swung his lance and spliced the machine easily, breaking it hopefully for good. Maybe it was a mistake, as the surge of adrenaline at that overflowed his will to refuse a guaranteed great battle with the bat.

Galacta swooped down close to the knight in warning, who stepped back cautiously. He then soared around the large room and landed a few feet away from the opponent, eyeing him viciously.

Yellow eyes, golden sword, no doubt about it. The same one who beat him through pure luck. The pink Warrior's eyes flashed with anger.

 **Battle on.**

Then, unspoken, the two combatants charged at each other for their second battle.

 _It was a marvelous thing._

* * *

Their respective weapons clashed against the other, but before even allowing the gauge of strengths, Galacta dipped back in the air and swung hard.

The blue haired opponent stepped forward to meet the strike. He wouldn't have been able to dodge or block it with that lost footing. Before he could get too comfortable with that stance, Galacta flew back once more, further this time.

A beam of energy was thrown at him, and Meta knight rose Galaxia to deflect it. However, the long ranged attack was merely a distraction, he realized, as the warrior spun once some distance away, weapon raised. As he brought it down in front of him, a white lash of energy dug along the metal floor toward the knight.

With a beat of his wings, Meta Knight jumped up and out of the way, watching it ruin the floor past him. His eyes snapped to the fast approaching warrior, and he swiveled to meet his strike in the air.

Galacta Knight glared in the brief moment their eyes met, and swung his lance heavily off the sword. With a tight flip in the air, he doubled back to the far side of the room, and landed lightly to slam his lance to the ground with both hands.

The leather winged soldier kept a close eye as he flew toward his opponent. He stopped as soon as he saw the tell-tale signs of wind energy being formed at the warrior's hands.

With a grin under his mask, Galacta let the tornado whip through the air toward the blue knight. He hovered off the ground and kept a close eye to where the bat would try to escape to, itching to dash to continue the fight.

There- -to the right of the whirlwind!- -he appeared in a flash of blue and purple! Galacta sailed to the opponent, charging up energy in his lance.

The bat noticed him coming and as Galacta neared, stopped flapping his wings for a split second. He lowered just enough to loop upwards in a strike, managing a gash in the other's armor as he rose up, but getting knocked back with a powerful blast on the returning flip.

Galacta landed and looked down at his cut shirt. Placing a hand on it, he quickly evaluated it. No blood yet. Still safe.

 _ **But he had wanted to land the first strike.**_

His eyes darted back up to his opponent, who had stood as soon as the daze had left him and held his sword in front of him.

 _All luck. I'm the strongest._

 _ **I'll be the first to draw blood in this battle. It's only begun.**_

This would be a long, satisfying fight.

* * *

The battle continued, and somewhere along the line, Galacta had managed his goal in being the first to draw blood. It had gotten him even more pumped for the exuberant match, but it wasn't quite enough to maintain the winning edge.

Meta Knight had gotten a one-up on him with a flash of his sword. He had dashed at surprising speed to avoid a few solidified beams and struck once more.

With an enraged shout, Galacta Knight shoved his opponent back with his full weight behind his lance. Meta Knight backed up in response, flapping back a good several feet to observe what the warrior was going to do.

The warrior glared at his damaged person. Several cuts stung along his body and his armor was dented or ripped in some places. He clutched his fist in anger.

 _I'm supposed to be the strongest! I've trained for so long, and I've even been **imprisoned** for it!_

Galacta's fierce glare darkened at his opponent.

 _ **Why can't I beat him?!**_

His rage got ahold of him once more, and the warrior slipped into the mindset of doing anything to regain his title as the strongest.

Raising his lance up high, power coursed through him and fiery red spots slowly glowed upon the floor. Meta Knight glanced down in time and barely managed to avoid the scarlet pillars of electricity, stumbling forward.

Then came two more waves, than a fourth.

The blue haired knight winced as he was hit by one of the rapid-fire attacks. He fell forward, his leg feeling numb from the contact.

Seeing the fall, Galacta grinned, and flew up higher. Filling his lance with energy, he dragged his lance through the air to open a pink interdimensional beam.

Meta Knight's eyes widened as the rip grew brighter.

 _Heal me,_ he thought urgently. Galaxia complied, and a refreshing wave coursed along his body. It was usually a gradual heal, but his sentient sword had started the process from his leg, so he was able to stand right away to run.

Nevertheless, the blast threw him forward due to his proximity. He hoisted himself and turned to a sitting position as he stared at the powerful output the dimensional rift gave.

 _Amazing power. Not even I can accomplish that._

 _(Now is no time to marvel, My Wielder.)_ Galaxia spoke to him as any wounds he had closed and disappeared, ( _We must defeat him.)_

Meta Knight stood as the grand beam lessened into a thin stream before giving way and disappearing back into the shrinking rift, until that too was nothing more than a thin line of pink.

 _Right. I came here to find answers, not gawk._

Meta Knight took up a ready battle stance and looked cautiously around for the _former_ title-holder of strongest warrior.

 _Where did he get off to...?_

He got his answer in countless solid sword beams heading toward him. The caped warrior dashed through the incoming barrage, nimbly evading only most of them. Several more slashed his arms and pierced past his sides.

As the sweep of shaped beams died down, Meta Knight heard his opponent land behind him, and turned deftly to him.

They stared the other down. It was a tense moment. The rematch neither has asked for, but there were no complaints it had happened anyway.

Galacta stepped foward and swung his lance around, sending out a wide, purple sword beam at him. Meta Knight flapped high over it and landed with a downstab to cut off the fast approaching warrior. The white-winged combantant pulled back before lashing forward, attempting to force his opponent away from his sword.

Meta Knight side stepped the stab but refused to let go of Galaxia as he did, managing to reclaim her from the ground.

The pink haired warrior slashed at him several times, making the knight rush to meet and block the flurry. On the last strike, he charged up his lance in an instant to send out another powerful blast.

Meta Knight held up his free arm along with Galaxia to shield himself from it. He quickly patted his arm to cool it, feeling the heat of it.

He looked back up to notice Galacta Knight in the air once more. The warrior raised his lance and a white-hot shine brightened from the tip. Meta Knight braced himself, recognizing this attack.

Spreading his wings to hover quickly along the ground, the blue haired fighter started his escape from the relentless chase.

Galacta Knight's smile grew under his mask as the white beam followed his opponent, tearing up the metal floor loudly. He'd win, he could sense it. And it would be **_soon._**

The knight continued to flee from the ongoing laser, smelling burning metal as he did so.

 _I have to beat him fast._

Meta Knight jumped to the air and turned as his wings beats propelled him backwards. He let out a charged sword beam to detract Galacta from the deadly white beam. It worked, and Galacta brought up his shield to block, disrupting his concentration on attacking.

With a growl, Galacta spread his wings wide to fly at an extreme speed towards Meta Knight. Wind rushed past him as he pointed his lance out in front of him. The bat flew to the side at the last second, forcing Galacta to make a wide turn in order to target him again.

The knight had landed, though he stood in a battle ready stance. His cape replaced his wings now. Galacta tightened his grip on his lance and charged it up in a slow heat, letting his energy pool. He then flew with incredible speed to his opponent closing their gap rapidly.

Meta Knight jolted slightly and quickly grasped the edge of his cape. In the same instant of swiping the dark cloth around, he shot energy down his arm and along the cape.

Darkness caught Galacta by surprise as he was suddenly trapped in a space-like area. Distant stars and Meta Knight's yellow eyes were the only visible things in the temporary subspace.

The swirl of inky dark blue and stars were interrupted by the bright streaks of Meta Knight moving swiftly toward him, sword withdrawn.

Galacta cried out in pain as the sword cut deep into his side, wounding him gravely.

And just like that, the stellar background dissipated and they were back in the twisted, smoking hi-tech room. The pink warrior collapsed to his knees, clutching tightly at his bleeding injury.

Meta Knight landed a good distance away, back turned, as he began at catching his breath at the adrenaline rush.

 _That had to have won the battle,_ he thought as his heart slowed. As soon as he was presentable, he turned, and was quickly proven wrong.

He slipped back into a battle stance absently as his eyes flashed white in surprise. Galacta had stood up already and clutched his lance with both hands, preparing a wind attack. His shirt was stained red and blood continued to seep through.

His ferocious red eyes glared at him intently as the lance was near done charging.

Meta Knight hesitated in concern. _Is this going to leading up to abattle to the death? This place is going to be destroyed before I find out what the Haltmann company was up to!_

Nonetheless, the knight shook his head from these thoughts. _I'll just have to down him before that happens. For Popstar!_

The lance finished charging, and the large tornado was released, heading toward Meta Knight. He hopped away from it, but it seemed like Galacta was able to control it as long as he held on to the lance like that. It swerved to the blue knight's path, chasing him down.

 **There you are.**

Galacta blinked, gaze flitting upward. "What?"

 **You have escaped from your seal.**

 **You have been avoiding your sentence.**

 _Was that...Nova?_

The warrior recoiled, looking around.

Meta Knight blinked, thoroughly puzzled as the harsh winds faltered in its trail and died out. He looked over at Galacta, who looked wary.

 **From what I observe, you have also not changed for the better.**

 **The wish has not been completed.**

"Wish?" Galacta echoed, "What wish?" _Had I been sealed away with a stipulation?_ ** _Why_ _hadn't I known about this?!_** "Why didn't you tell me this before?!"

Looking around with concern, Meta Knight wondered if it was the blood loss getting to the warrior's head. Or rather, the floor.

 **I shall lock you away in a powerful enough seal until you can better yourself.**

Galacta felt sick. _Better myself? What does that mean? I don't want to return to that fucking..._

Feeling disoriented, he fell to one knee.

 _That prison. Staring out into nothing as he was forced to live through...who knows how long? Too much time had passed._

 _Then, his prison's lock had been temporarily picked, just to lose his title. If that wasn't enough, he was forced to return to his punishment._ _He couldn't go through that again, no._

 _He was able to think and remember everything-no, he wouldn't be able to face that after relishing his freedom-he didn't want to return here, damn it! He had been keeping away for so long! To be caught over someone else's doing! That damned computer! That **bastard** who wished him away in the first place! The accursed knight who wished him out, just to fight!_

 _Although, do I truly regret that? A passion-filled battle!_

"Can you stand?" A tentative touch was placed on his shoulder. He hadn't heard the bat step over cautiously. His voice was deep. He hadn't heard it aside from the occasional grunts and straining in battle. It sounded...nice.

He hated it.

"Don't touch me!" Galacta snapped in response, still too disturbed, from the memories, the battle, Nova.

The contact was removed.

 **I shall reseal you in the Crystal in**

 **3...**

"I want to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." The knight didn't know when to shut up. "Do you know anything of the computer you just destroyed?"

Galacta looked up at him, a strange mix of anguished and infuriated. "Don't you hear that?!"

Meta Knight stared in a blank confusion before shaking his head in the briefest no.

 _ **Useless.**_

 _ **2...**_

 _Wait. Maybe...?_

A plan quickly formed in Galacta's head, and he looked up suddenly to his former opponent. He was just shorter than him. Would it work? Could he trick Nova, if only for enough time to escape? He would just need to find a way out and get far away enough off planet...

 **1...**

His wounds began to heal, just like when he was brought back from the brink of death. There was a shimmer, and small pieces of crystal began to materialize. Galacta stood shakingly.

 _Inevitable._

Meta Knight looked surprised that he had even been able to stand, and he glanced down to the ruined shirt and armor, stepping back as they seemed to magically fix themselves.

"What-?" He began before Galacta grabbed onto his sword hand roughly and pulled him extremely close, catching him off guard.

 **...GO!**

Galacta stepped to swing the blue haired knight around in front of him as the pieces of Crystal began to surround him. It latched on Meta Knight instead, who quickly pieced together what had happened. However, Galacta had let him go already.

"You _coward!"_ He hissed, swinging his sword in a futile attempt to reach Galacta. Said warrior jumped back into the air to avoid the attack. Meta Knight straightened up and glared, eyes flashing red for a second. "Face your-!"

In a final burst of energy, the Crystal finished enveloping him and ceased all movement and sound.

Galacta stared as the familiar star-shaped portal appeared in a flash and the seal slowly rose it. As soon as the Crystal was encompassed by it, it vanished in a bout of light into oblivion, leaving only a few remnants of light.

Silence accompanied free warrior for several seconds as realization kicked in.

His on-the-spot plan actually _worked!_ He had tricked Nova!

Though he knew he couldn't celebrate his victory for too long. He stepped forward and gratefully noted that every wound had been healed and his clothes and armor had been mended.

Grabbing his lance and readjusting his shield, Galacta pointed at the window of the construct the battle had taken place in. With a dense shot, he shattered a good portion of it and flew out, leaving the aftermath of the battle behind him.

 _Time to ditch this miserable place._

* * *

 _Trapped._ _Helpless._ _Aware._

 _What was he staring at? Were his eyes even open?_

Meta Knight struggled, but he couldn't move a muscle. It was pitch black.

His eyes darted back and forth, but there was no indication that he did so; everywhere he saw it looked the same. He tried taking a breath, but found himself unable to.

The knight started to panic.

 _I'm going to die! I can't breathe!_

His thoughts raced as he attempted struggling again, but to no avail. The Crystal did its job in holding him firmly in place.

 _Like the Mecha Suit,_ came the cold, perplexing thought. He couldn't even fight against this however. He could at least feel something in there. He could move, he could fight against it. He could-

 _(My wielder.)_ His sword called to him.

 _Galaxia! Galaxia, can't you break this prison? Break me out of here._

 _(I cannot. This is a cell produced by Nova. I may be of use outside it, but not trapped inside.)_

 _Nothing to be done then. Nothing. I can do nothing in here. I can think. But what use is that. What can I accomplish? What can I-?_

* * *

Galacta Knight flew high above the clouds. The structure had practically reached space, but it had been a while since he's last flown freely. Thus, with his victorious high, he planned to fly leisurely before taking his leave of the planet.

The light breeze felt refreshing compared to the monitored temperature inside the building. The bright colors of this planet also contradicted the darker, shinier, painted metal the interior of the place had to offer.

In fact, the entire thing seemed so out of place from the rest of the planet.

Dismissing it, as it was nothing he should be concerned about, Galacta decided to focus on enjoying the sunlight on his wings. It had been far too long since...

Flying a bit lower, his eyes scanned the inhabitants of the world. Strange mouthless creatures and walking mushrooms bustled about.

Weak, weak, weak. He could definitely beat all of these runts, without breaking a sweat. His grip tightened on his lance, and his eye twitched.

 ** _Pathetic! I could simply destroy this planet and nobody would miss it!_**

He's destroyed a handful of planets before. He could do it again...

Galacta narrowed his eyes and his wings flapped faster as he went further into the sky.

 _Is it because I'm not satisfied with my current loss record?_

 _ **No. I just want to see this planet destroyed. That's all.**_

The sky faded from a light blue to dark. He was almost off this planet. The planet of the one who **stole** his title.

 _The one you forced to take your place._

Galacta stopped and turned to the yellow planet far below. He glared venomously at the two-ringed star-shaped world. The home of the one who defeated him once, and couldn't manage it again.

He raised his lance, the pink metal's tip slowly glowing a hot-white as it charged. It spread down the rest of the blade and burned brightly.

 ** _Yes. Destroy. For old times' sake._**

 _Gladly._

Right as he was about to bring the powerful laser down, a star portal enveloped around him and dragged him in.

The population down below walked about peacefully, oblivious to the terrifying fate that might have occurred.

* * *

Galacta Knight blinked and he was in front of Nova. His first thought was to let the beam go and attempt to escape again. Nova seemed to expect this and trapped his lance arm in crystal.

The warrior squirmed vigorously until realizing that Nova _didn't seal him away immediately._

He finally stops to evaluate the situation and looks around, catching sight of the bat, staring straight at him with sword at hand.

 _Something's going on._

"...Aren't you going to seal me like the dangerous brute I am?" he snarled.

 **I should.**

 **After what you were about to do.**

 **It is clear you are no different than before.**

He shrugged. "I was about to destroy that planet."

The bat's wings twitched. "Which planet?" he asked suspiciously.

" _Which do you think?"_ Galacta Knight replied spitefully.

 **Enough.**

 **Listen.**

 **You have one chance to avoid being sealed again.**

 _Freedom._

 **You shall be free.**

 **I am only doing this so the wish could be complete.**

Curiosity returned. "What wish?" He was ignored again.

 **This opportunity will not come easy.**

"What is it?" Galacta asked eagerly. "Anything to be free of that life ruining crystal!"

 **Meta Knight has offered to aid you.**

 **He desires to locate and discover the origins of Star Dream.**

 **If you aid him to the best of your ability without damaging any celestial bodies or ending a life,**

 **you shall not have to return to your sealed imprisonment.**

"Sounds fair." Galacta agreed after a few seconds of thinking about this. There was a pause. "But who's Meta Knight."

The bat sighed. "Charmed."


	2. Let the Ship Set Sail(or Dee)

**Chapter Two of this silly shipping thing. Absolyutely nothing can go wronnnnng. Maybe. Not really.**

 **Anyway! I didn't put an Author's Note in the last chapter because I didn't want to ruin the flow of the scenes by commenting in bold and having people get confused on why Nova was suddenly talking about writing a Meta/Galacta fanfiction. I wanted to try my hand at coming up with fanfics on the fly and seeing what happens when I let characters interact~**

 **Lastly, a bit of trivia; This chapter was co-written by me and my sister. She wrote the artistically genius 'they' at one point. I wrote the rest. Isn't she amazing? Of course she is.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"This is your ship?" Galacta asked in distaste as they landed on the deck of the...aircraft. "Ships floated on _water_ last time I checked."

Meta Knight ignored him, since he knew it was just the warrior's rage taking. Galactic Nova had taken away his lance and left him only his shield.

("Much like a child,") his golden sword had commented in amusement.

Instead of bringing this comment up to him, Meta Knight gestured at Galacta to follow. "This way." He walked along the deck to an entrance and opened the door, stepping aside in order to let the other enter first.

Of course the pink warrior was staring over the side of the Halberd, staring intently at the large 'wings' of the battleship.

The caped knight's eyes traveled up to the sky to see how much time was left in the day for the chance to return to the Access Arc. Also, he was annoyed.

One would believe that someone who was formerly titled 'strongest in the galaxy' would be a bit less distracted, but they would be wrong.

Still, best to be amicable. Besides, it wasn't often there was a new visitor over to admire his ship. Clearing his throat, Meta Knight strolled over to the other warrior.

"It's a grand battleship, isn't it? The finest-and only-around." He tried his best to at least try and sound humble. It didn't work.

Galacta Knight didn't answer for several seconds, instead just staring at the wings. Finally, he thought of what to say. "Why does it look _so much_ like you? It's one thing to make sure everyone knows it's you, and another to be so full of yourself."

Meta Knight's eyes lowered. "Do _you_ know how to build a ship from scratch, rebuild it with improvements, repair damage here and there when the inevitable happens, and teach yourself to manage it properly when the blueprints are way past outdated?"

"...No," Galacta admitted.

"Neither does anyone on this planet. When you learn how to, you can make it look how you want to."

Galacta narrowed his eyes. "I think the crystal would have been preferable to this."

"You're welcome to go at any time." Meta Knight said.

The pink warrior spread his wings threateningly. The bat said nothing and merely stared.

"..." Galacta rolled his eyes and his wings folded back. The crystal was a horrible place to be and they both knew it.

"Good. Now follow me. We have things to prepare and not much time left to do so." Meta Knight said, turning with a flair of his cape as he wrapped it around himself.

This time, Galacta did follow and they entered the Halberd.

The warrior had to blink a few times to adjust to the dark lighting inside. The flooring was metal and each step brought forth a clang. It was unsettling for some reason and it seemed strangely familiar. He didn't like the feeling. It wasn't quite what he was expecting either, for some odd reason...

"This place is so..." Galacta trailed off, trying to think of a word as he kept following Meta Knight.

The knight, on the other hand, was deep in thought as he led the warrior to the control room.

Haltmann may have vanished, but the Access Arc was still there and production of the ' _Mecha Knights_ ' had still been going. He had stopped the process, but that meant someone was still around. He would bet his Halberd on Susie-that disturbing lunatic-and it didn't help that Galacta Knight had damaged the computer too much.

He had to be even more cautious upon returning. She could be well aware on what he was planning, and she was a dangerous opponent. It was comforting to know he had someone else to rely on in this, someone who cared about more than just food and sleeping.

"...weird." The pink warrior finally finished, sounding proud of himself.

Meta Knight would be the brains, of course.

Pressing the button to an elevator, they walked on and the doors shut.

Already restless, Galacta gave a sigh. This elevator was much too small. What floor were they going to? It was taking too long...

He felt his wings being grabbed and he jumped. "I said don't touch me!"

"I wouldn't if you'd stop flapping your wings for one _second."_

Galacta paused, realizing that he had unknowingly flared his wings. It was technically his fault, but as if he was going to admit that. "It wouldn't be a problem if you weren't obsessed with some computer!" He swung angrily without thinking much about it.

Meta Knight stepped back in reflex only to remember that elevators were compact and not well suited to actions like...stepping back. As a result, the hit landed clumsily on his mask, making it off-center.

Years of training prepared him for this, in a way. Fights should always be held on equal ground. If the opponent doesn't have a sword, offer them one. However, he had no spare sword at the moment.

'Of course,' Meta Knight thought as he slowly fixed his mask, 'A hit is still a hit, and that's the beginning of a fight. I won't use a sword.'

Instead, Meta Knight tackled him because _nobody touches his mask._

Thus, the legendary brawl in the elevator continued there until it arrived to the floor and the doors opened. It spilled out and tons of cursing, wing pulling, and mask skewing was involved.

Walking out of the control room, Sailor Waddle Dee paused upon noticing the fighting duo in the middle off the hall. "Um...Sir?" she asked with uncertainty.

Meta Knight heard her, but didn't dare divert his eyes from the pink warrior, instead trying to keep the upper hand of the weaponless fight. ...The actually very embarrassing one that would only attract attention from the rest of the Halberd Crew.

"Ugh, enough!" he ordered, frowning as he pushed the other away, but still keeping a battle-ready stance. "We have a structure to get rid of."

Galacta was still on the verge of attacking full-on. The rush of a real battle was what he wanted-he was just about ready to attack again until seeing the creature with the sailor hat.

He blinked. It was one of those mouthless creatures that inhabited this planet, and being of a species who ate plenty in order to function properly, couldn't help but ask, "How do you eat without a mouth?"

Meta Knight remained silent, closing his eyes. Galaxia laughed quietly. ("A familiar question.")

"Uh," Sailor gave a polite 'smile,' "Well, it's kind of hard to explain..."

"And will have to be saved for later," Meta Knight said. "I was just dropping by to inform you and the crew about a few changes."

The Waddle Dee nodded, "Right. What is it?"

"I'll be working with Galacta Knight," Meta Knight gestured to him. "He'll be helping me take down the Access Arc for good."

"If you two don't, uh, fight again along the way."

"He has more to lose than I do." He replied nonchalantly.

Galacta froze at this. He was right, damn it. He felt his eye twitch upon the realization that the bat had yet another thing to hold above him. When the mouthless thing looked at him to elaborate, he glanced elsewhere, barely keeping his temper.

"Oh. Well...alright, I guess. You're the boss, boss!" Sailor agreed cheerfully.

"..." Meta Knight grew quiet. "Before I get what we need and depart...how have they been acting?"

As if by some agreement the two have come to before, Sailor also lowered her voice. "Javelin is great, of course-I did make him after all-and the rest haven't done anything _too_ out of the ordinary...so they seem alright for now."

"Good...that's good." Meta Knight nodded. "Don't forget to alert me if anything happens while I'm away."

Sailor gave a cute salute. "You can count on me!"

The bat glanced at Galacta, as if he were considering something.

"What? Want to fight?" he asked a bit too eagerly.

"No, now stop that." Meta Knight replied, then turned to Sailor. "Show him around until I get back. I'm sure he won't be any trouble, but if he does give you any..." The threat would have sounded menacing to any other sane individual, but Galacta simply yawned and stretched his wings in the knight's face. "Hurry up and iron your cape or whatever. I have planets to destroy."

"For your sake, I hope you're joking." Meta Knight muttered, wondering whether plucking a feather to spite him would be going too far. He decided against it, and pushed the wing aside. "I'm sure the terms apply even after I'm done."

"I was joking." Galacta replied, but it wasn't very convincing. "But I won't harm the...mouthless...mariner. Honest."

That seemed to be good enough for the bat, and he turned away and walked down the hallway to some other part of the weird, dark ship.

Sailor waved eagerly after him, "Bye! I'll make sure he's good!"

Galacta could have laughed. The thought of the tiny thing making sure he 'behaved' was just too amusing. In fact, he did laugh. Loudly.

Blinking in surprise, the capped Waddle Dee turned to him. "What's so funny?"

" _You_. As if you can do anything to keep me under wraps. I've killed so many beings without a second thought, destroyed more than a few planets for fun, and managed to break the seal of NOVA. I'm sure a creature as insignificant as you haven't even been off planet. Hell, it's obvious you don't even think for yourself, since you serve under that bat without a second thought." His tone got progressively darker as he went on.

"..." Sailor's eyes narrowed. "Maybe not off planet, you oversized cockatoo, but I've had my fair share of trials."

"Heh, like buying that pointless hat?" He scoffed the Waddle Dee's cap, tipping it over her eyes.

Annoyed, the Dee fixed it. "No." She glared up at him. "More like staying on board the ship with your captain while he's dueling the menace who wrecked the ship enough to make it start falling."

"Oh, how traumatizing." Galacta mocked.

"Then being left behind on the ship as it falls out of the sky into the dark depths of the ocean? It may not have been space, but hey, it's much darker down there."

Galacta rolled his eyes. "Try being locked in a crystal for who knows how many years, then talk to me."

"I'd rather not talk to you at all." Sailor replied in a huff.

"What a loss." deadpanned Galacta, though he couldn't help but ask. "But if that bat left you behind, why do you keep following him?"

"The captain's name is Meta Knight, get it straight..." Sailor muttered before clearing her throat, "And I follow him because he's a great leader. You could learn a thing or two about respect."

"Right..." Galacta sighed, losing interest in the conversation now. He stretched his wings. It was so uncomfortable in here. When was the bat getting back? He just wanted to fly again. It'd be much better than listening to the mouthless freak talk...somehow. How did they talk? And he still wanted to know how they ate. Egh. He'd find out later.

"I'm heading outside." he stated, turning back to the elevator.

"Uh...You don't want a tour around the Halberd? It's really cool! There's a kitchen and a dungeon, and lots of bedrooms too..." Sailor listed, "Not on this floor since its just the control floor. Here, we steer it and power up the Combo Cannon and aim at any opponents. It's very exciting!"

"That's very nice," Galacta assured, pressing the elevator button several times.

"Why don't we head down to the living quarters? I'm sure you're going to stay at least a few days! You should get used to where they are."

"Yes, sure." he said, getting inside the elevator. "Bye."

"W-wait! There's also other rooms! The reactor! I'll show you Heavy Lobster! Or there's...there's also the armory!"

The door was sliding shut when Galacta reached out to keep it from doing so. "Armory..." there's a hint of excitement in his voice. "What kind of weapons? How many? Which floor?"

Sailor smirked. There we go! Now she could have the tour go on nicely, just like Meta Knight asked! She briefly wondered if she should be concerned with how excited he got over the idea of swords and the such...but she shrugged it off. The Captain ordered her to show him around and if this was the only thing he was interested in...

"I'll show you!"


	3. In Your Arm(ory)s

Meta Knight let out a sigh as he got to his room, looking around. Was it a good idea bringing that brute on board?

His sword hummed and the ruby in the hilt flashed. ("He seems to be doing well as long as you two don't fight.")

"He always wants to fight." Meta Knight brought up.

("I know,") his sword said. Her voice was dripping with amusement and it was obvious she was in no mood to actually help.

Ignoring her with no ill thoughts, the knight headed toward his desk. Blueprints, maps and other nerd things that one interested in history and technology building might have covered every inch of the desk. It was probably an 'organized mess' to nobody but the knight.

'I should clean this up soon,' he mused, glancing over the scattered papers. Meta Knight opened a drawer at random and looked through it, hoping to find...

 _Ah, here we go. Shiver Star's Map. Exactly where I left it._

...

"I'll organize the papers when I get back." He stated. Whether it was a compromise or a promise he'd never complete, he was satisfied with the way things ended up and left the room, tucking the map into his cape.

He hoped Sailor was faring well with Galacta. The Halberd couldn't afford another blow just yet.

* * *

Even with the weird mask, Sailor could tell just how impressed the winged knight was with the large armory. "Meta Knight has collected several weapons over the years, so there's a bunch of things. Swords, hammers, axes..."

"Any lances?" Galacta asked nonchalantly, picking up a spear and eyeing it.

"...Oh. For some weird reason, I don't think he has. Weird."

Galacta groaned in disappointment. "Just as well. Nothing he has will be as good as my lance anyway."

"Whatever you say. Have you seen his sword?" Sailor asked.

"...Once or twice," Galacta responded flatly. "I guess I can make do with a sword..."

"Wait, what? I'm just showing you around. You're not _getting_ anything from here." Sailor stopped in her tracks.

Galacta turned to leer at her, and it was very effective. "What?"

"Uh, well, I mean not without Meta Knight's say-so."

The warrior's red eyes narrowed. It _would_ be that bat's fault.

It is his ship after all. You wouldn't like if someone came to your house and got some things.

Haha. _**What house**._

Galacta blinked. What house indeed? The crystal? How cozy. No, the place he lived...was it the first planet he destroyed? His planet?

Hmn. That sounded about right...was it a two story house or was he just imagining things now?

He lost interest in this, and something caught his eye. "What are those?" he asked.

"What, the maces?" Sailor asked.

"That." Galacta actually pointed now, annoyed.

Sailor stared over at the row of Copy Abilities. "Oh...um, Meta Knight keeps those around in case of an emergency. They're for Kirby."

"Hmm..." He muttered, staring between all of them. "Essences. Why does he have these? He has the permanent Wings and Sword, doesn't he?"

Sailor shrugged. "I just said they're for Kirby."

"Who the hell is Kirby?"

"Uh, this guy who...actually beat Meta Knight. He-"

" _What_? He's been defeated before!?"

"Uh...Yeah? That's why the Halberd crashed...The second time was because-"

"What did this 'Kirby' character use?"

"...Sword Ability?"

"Sword. Using the same weapon as your opponent. It's a great tactic, yet risky if you don't have the skill to back it up. What a _genius_. He must have spent years training.

"...Meta Knight just kinda gave him the sword before the fight."

"What. He forgot the sword and...tricked the bat into giving him one...? Or...mind control?"

Sailor blinked. "No...Kirby just didn't have a weapon to defend himself with so Meta Knight gave him one..."

"Why? That's stupid."

Sailor squinted, wondering if the warrior was kidding. It wasn't very funny. "Because it was fair?"

"But he lost."

"In a fair fight."

"But he _lost."_

"It did take me a while to get used to that, so I guess..."

"He can't lose! He defeated _me_! _Twice!_ "

Sailor shrugged. "Kirby is pretty strong, from what I saw."

Galacta narrowed his eyes. "Sounds like he is, if he defeated that bat...Hmm...I gotta meet him. And if I kill him, then I'd know I have the ability to defeat the bat. It's _perfect_."

Sailor couldn't really think of a way to respond to that (except for 'Wow, you're really crazy,'), but thankfully, the warrior's attention span came in handy.

"Is that a knife set?" He practically flew to that shelf.

Was he really so dismissive of things like vowing to kill a kid or destroying planets? What a psycho. Sailor shivered. Now he was looking at the daggers like Dedede does with food. Obsessive, and kind of gross too.

"It seems like he's behaving well enough." Meta Knight observed, suddenly beside her.

Sailor jolted in fear before realizing it was just her captain."Oh," she settled down, "Yes, Sir. Um, we'll be fine as long as there's something shiny nearby. Where'd you find this one?"

"...Some rock." He answered.

She nodded, a bit disappointed, but not surprised. Meta Knight never outright said things, usually for the better. It had taken her a while to get why.

"Put those knives _down_." Meta Knight called out, "Nova said no weapons."

"He also said that crystal was unbreakable, but look at me, Bat!" Galacta shouted, throwing a handful of knives.

It wasn't difficult to block the daggers with his sword, but it was still annoying. "If you don't stop that..." He trailed off upon seeing the warrior disappear among the shelves, out of sight.

"I don't think he'll stop until you, uh, go get him?" Sailor suggested, before shaking her head. "Is he really a knight?"

"..." Meta Knight sighed. "It was more obvious when we were fighting and not talking."

"Oh." Sailor tilted her head. "I think he stopped somewhere. See? Shiny things!"

"Ugh. Pick up the knives. I'll return in a while."

Sailor saluted as Meta Knight flashed away with his cape. She grumbled under her breath as she knelt down.

* * *

Galacta flew lowly between the shelves, scanning quickly. There _had_ to be something like a lance around here. He highly doubted a common weapon would be avoided, if the bat's collection was really this impressive.

He paused and stared at a few select tools. Flails, pole-axes, maces. These were heavier, but he was sure they were used differently than lances. His eyes flitted over to a sword beside them.

Kirby beat Meta Knight with one. Would a different choice of weapon be more efficient...? He closed the grip around the hilt and picked it up to try it out.

It was much lighter for sure. He wondered how well it would go with his shield. Giving it a few test swings, he quickly realized he hated it. He had gotten too used to heavier weapons.

As he was going to trade the sword for one of the heavier selections, he saw the bat appear in the next aisle over out of thin air.

Galacta jumped up with a strong flap of his wings, managing to make it out of sight before Meta Knight turned quickly, alert now. Before he thought to look up, Galacta dove towards him, pointing the edge of the sword at him.

Meta Knight's eyes darted to the attacker, and quickly moved to bring his sword up to meet his with a sharp clang. There was a bit of a struggle to gauge strength, so the moment the blades tilted toward him slightly, the bat swiftly slid his sword off Galacta's and hopped back.

The feathered warrior caught his momentum and gave chase, refusing to let up on the attack as he stayed in the air. This time, he used his shield to block the Bat's sword strike before jabbing his blade forward.

Again, the bat's eyes seemed to track every small movement, giving him the advantage. He went along with the shield strike but tipped his sword in order to deflect it instead of blocking it as Galacta had 'planned.' In the same movement, he slammed it against the approaching sword.

Galacta scowled and swung it a wide arc.

Meta Knight stepped back and caught it with the flat side of his golden sword. "Don't treat it like a lance. It's a completely different weapon. Use skill, not strength."

The warrior faltered blankly, taking a second to register the words. He narrowed his eyes furiously before shouting. "Don't lecture me on how to sword fight while I'm **_attacking_** you!"

Flying forward while keeping up the relentless attack, Galacta swung wildly, rage overtaking his ability to fight properly. He noticed the bat backing up gradually and grinned. He had the upper hand!

Meta Knight kept his defense up, blocking each blow with relative ease. It was wild and fast, but predictable. _Extremely so._ Blocking once more, he finally parried a strike and took a step forward, raising his blade.

 _He was coming closer- -_

Galacta stopped abruptly, which Meta Knight wasn't planning for. Galaxia slid by the space between Galacta's shield and mask, and he stopped himself a bit closer than he had wanted to, but didn't think much of it. Despite the situation, he allowed himself a smile under his mask.

"I win _."_ he said, and couldn't help but laugh. "And you weren't so much attacking as you were _flailing wildly_."

Galacta's eyes widened as he took in the words and that infuriating laugh, them turned slightly to glare straight at the bat with as much ferocity as he could muster.

Meta Knight paused at the lack of response and made eye contact with the still-hovering knight. He only saw the heated glare briefly before it dropped as soon as their eyes met.

All of Galacta's hate melted away instantly for...some reason. He felt his face flush and suddenly couldn't bear to hold the shared gaze without feeling dumb.

 _Think of some witty way to respond! Hurry!_

His mind scrambled to do so but ultimately came up blank. _Was getting closer an option?!_

Meta Knight felt a bit awkward at the elongated eye contact, and drew back his sword slightly. Was he being too friendly? Had he overstepped his boundaries?

 _Too late-!_ Galacta kicked himself mentally for missing his chance and forgot to flap his wings for a second too long. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Er..." the Bat stepped back, staring at the fallen lancer, "Wing cramp? It's what you deserve for causing so much trouble."

Galacta wanted to yell at him. Who did that bat think he was? Wing cramps were for rookie pages _._

At the same time, there was no other explanation for falling all of a sudden in front of him, and he refused to move until the heat in his face died down.

Thus, the fallen warrior simply groaned tiredly and gave the best reply he could in this circumstance. "Fuck off."

Meta Knight rolled his eyes.


	4. Sweet Sleep

**Big thanks to the favorites, follows, and reviews this time around~! It's always a great feeling to see and read them. Of course, I'm sure reading Meta Knight and Galacta fight like a couple of kids is a story worth reading too. So that being said, I'll be quiet and let you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Ugh." Meta Knight glared at the setting sun, "We can't head out now. We'll have to wait until morning." He didn't say whose fault it was, but he glared pointedly at Galacta.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Galacta asked. "We won't even be on this planet."

"It's easier to keep track of time. If we leave Popstar in its morning-"

"Where are we going anyway?"

Meta Knight paused, offended at being interrupted. "We're heading to Shiver Star. There are remains there that seem to be similar to the technology that Haltmann-"

"How far is it?"

"-that Haltmann Works Company produced. I'm sure we can find something there that relates to-"

"I asked how far it was-"

" _Relates_ to Star Dream. As for how far it is, it's a few planets away-"

"Are you _ignoring_ me?" Galacta asked indignantly. "I'm helping you so much and you ignore me!"

"All you did today was throw knives and fly too much."

"I'm sacrificing my valuable time to help you." Galacta said.

"Valuable time from being sealed?" Meta Knight deadpanned, before shaking his head. "No. Be quiet. I'm talking."

"You always are." Galacta shot back once more.

Meta Knight was able to ignore him this time and continued. "We'll be heading out in the morning, so I'll show you to your room. Pay attention, because the Halberd is designed in a way that confuses invaders."

"Okay." Galacta replied.

There was a pause. Meta Knight was expecting...more of an outburst. But, you shouldn't question brutes who are agreeable all of a sudden. Just watch your back and it'll be fine. "Good. Follow me."

* * *

There were a lot more twists and turns than Galacta expected so he just zoned out soon enough. Needless to say, he didn't learn how to go through the Halberd.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, either way. You shouldn't be walking around late at night anyway. I'll come around in the morning to walk to the deck once more."

"Great, yeah." Galacta headed straight to the door Meta Knight stopped at. "Is this it?"

"...Yes, just don't-" Meta Knight narrowed his eyes as the door slammed shut. He let out his breath slowly in order to stay calm. Galacta Knight was probably just tired after...losing all day.

He just hoped the warrior would be less difficult tomorrow. The Access Arc had to be rid of soon, and he wanted it done. Kirby may have taken care of the surface but it was up to him for through cleaning.

 _Especially after being caught and used as a weapon so easily._

("It wasn't your fault,") Galaxia assured him. Meta Knight sighed and began to walk to his own room. That particular event was behind him now. _Don't think about it..._

* * *

Meanwhile, Galacta looked around the bedroom with a critical eye. He expected it to be as cold as the rest of the ship was, with metal floors and walls, but to his pleasant surprise, the floor was actually carpeted and it was simply furnished.

He supposed if it was the Bat's home, and he lived here, it'd make sense to have things comfortable.

What he assumed to be a closet door, a dresser...there were no windows since this was still a battleship, but Galacta liked it more just because of it.

Finally, his red eyes landed on what he was hoping for.

He took off his mask and placed it on the nightstand by the bed, walking almost cautiously toward it. Placing a hand on the covers, Galacta swept them aside and stared at the bed-sheets, and pillows, and pillow covers...!

He got in and marveled at the soft mattress. The warrior laid back on the pillows comfortably, covering himself snugly.

 _I have to admit it...that Bat has good taste. So soft..._

This was the first time he's been in a bed since the first time he was sealed...and it was great...

He fell asleep within a few minutes, completely lax.

* * *

Several hours later, he awoke to a dark room and realized it was a bad idea to fall asleep so early. Galacta stared up at the ceiling in boredom.

 _The bed is still comfy...just go back to sleep._

He blinked. No good. It was taking too long.

 _ **And staring at one thing was bothering him.**_

Giving up, Galacta sat up and stretched his wings out. Eugh...never sleep on your back again. It cramps.

The warrior kicked the sheets away and stood up, wondering what to do.

 _There's the Armory...~_

But what floor was it on again? Jeez, that Waddle whatever was a bad tour guide.

What else could he do...

What floor was he on?

...

Galacta shrugged. There was only one way to find out for sure.

He put on his mask again and walked to the door.

The pink knight walked down the hall casually, as if he wasn't wondering where he was and it wasn't midnight. There was soon a turn and he took it, not really caring where he was going, as long as he wasn't in one place.

As he continued, he noticed a lack of doors now. He probably had just left the bedrooms section. He briefly wondered where the Bat's would be. On the same floor as the rest, or would it be on a different floor? Since he was the captain, it'd make sense if it were above the rest.

 _But if he was foolish enough to give his opponent a sword, then he probably believed his crew were on equal footing with him._

Oh, shush. The bat was a great fighter. If he weren't, he wouldn't have defeated him.

 **Are you _defending_ him?**

Galacta blinked in boredom, not paying attention to his thoughts as he noticed a light under a door-a different one from the bedrooms.

This sparked his interest and he didn't hesitate in coming to a halt near the frame and leaning in to hear whoever was in there. He waited only a few seconds before getting annoyed and simply walked in.

Of course, who else would it be than the Bat himself.

Galacta narrowed his eyes, but in confusion this time and not anger. This was the kitchen, from the looks of it.

"What are you doing up so late?" Meta Knight spoke up first in an accusatory tone. He covered the fancy glass and ingredients of the dessert with a wing.

" _Me?"_ Galacta laughed, "What about you? Late night eating?"

The Bat hesitated a bit too long. "No."

"So, you're just standing around in the kitchen."

"...Yes." Meta Knight drew out. "It's my ship."

Galacta stared. "Where's your mask?"

"..." His eyes traveled down to the counter. The silver mask was on the same counter he was at but out of reach.

When he looked back up, Galacta was walking over. He panicked a little. "Shouldn't you be asleep? Go back to your room."

"Not tired." He responded, getting to the counter and reaching over. "Move your wing."

"Why? No." Meta Knight declined. He tried keeping a straight face but he has gotten too used to the mask. He looked pained.

"Your choice," Galacta sighed, picking up the mask. "Bye." He turned and began to leave.

Meta Knight frowned. He was _not_ going to walk through the Halberd without his mask.

Lowering the wing covering his dessert, the knight calculated the amount of time it would take to wrench the mask from Galacta and fly back...a few seconds at most...and even if it didn't, he was sure that he could raise his wings enough so that the insufferable warrior wouldn't see.

Why was he so interested anyway!

Shrugging this off, he flared his wings to stay a few inches off the ground and dashed over.

"Give back my _mask-"_ He began until realizing that Galacta was turned slightly to shoot him a wicked grin. He had expected him to charge..?

Galacta flung his mask like a Frisbee to the other side of the room.

Meta Knight stared as it flew and winced when it hit the far wall. He whipped his head back to glare but only saw feathers flutter down where the knight used to be. _His dessert-!_

Too late. Galacta had jumped into the air right after tossing the mask and flapped over to the counter. "Oh. You were scarfing down _sugar_? _"_ He said in disappointment, staring at the tastefully decorated parfait.

"..." Meta Knight refused to look at Galacta, opting to walk over to where his mask had landed, cape around him.

Galacta continued, not caring for the silent treatment. "And this late at night. How did you ever beat me? I swear..." he glared at the ice cream.

The Bat picked up his mask and turned, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe you're not as good as you thought. And a knight who 'scarves down sugar' beat you easily."

 _Fighting words._

"You did **not** beat me easily!" Galacta yelled hotly, "You could barely stand when I fell!"

"You were too busy fainting to tell the first time." Meta Knight hid his smile by putting on his mask again.

"And the second?!"

"You were too busy shoving me to take your place in the crystal."

"Ah-ha! But you couldn't stop me from pushing you in front of me."

"You caught me by surprise. I would hardly call that barely standing."

"Do you want to fight again, Bat?! I'll top you like the sugar addict you are!"

"I'll top you anytime!"

Galacta choked at that comment, but fortunately for him, Meta Knight didn't notice as he continued arguing. "And I'm _**not**_ a sugar addict. Desserts are okay when eaten sparingly..." He trailed off at the end, indicating that he might not, in fact, eat them only sparingly.

Instead of answering (since he couldn't think of anything to answer with after that interesting comment), Galacta squinted at him, studying him.

"..."

He grabbed the spoon, lifted up his mask, and began eating the sweet.

Meta Knight was taken aback, "My parfait!"

"It's not even that good-especially not to get fat on," Galacta said with his mouth full. It was actually delicious, but as if he was gonna let Meta Knight know that.

The Bat stiffened, insulted.

The warrior swallowed, and tossed the glass behind him. "You have really bad taste."

Meta Knight stared passively as the glass shattered, frowning.

Galacta stared for a few seconds. "Well? Aren't you going to clean that up, _Captain_?" Did he have a death wish?

Honestly, the warrior was feeling pretty proud of himself for shutting the bat up for once. He smiled smugly beneath his mask.

...Until blinking at seeing the Bat's yellow eyes fade to an orange and then an angry red.

What the fuck?

Galacta didn't have time to wonder about this properly when the knight took out his golden blade out of _nowhere-_ -he recoiled when Meta Knight stepped forward.

"W-wait-I don't have my lance-don't you give swords out to defenseless ones, or something-?" At least he learned something from the Waddle Dee.

" _I'll give you time to flee."_ He replied coldly.

Galacta took that time gladly, making it out of the kitchen just as a Sword Beam hit the door frame, flying down the hall blindly.

"You crazy-!"

"No flying on the Halberd!" Meta Knight yelled, chasing him on wing, despite what he just said.

"You're doing it too!"

"I'm the Captain! I can break the rules!"

The sounds of shouting and Sword Beams hitting walls traveled over to a certain Waddle Dee's room. She stared at the ceiling blankly, waiting for the two knights to _shut up._

With a groan, she rolled over and placed the pillow above her head to muffle out the noise.

 _Couldn't they just make out already and let her sleep?_


	5. Easy Does It

**Haha, chapter five~! I'm glad everyone is enjoying it so far. These two puffballs are just too great to write, so I should hope they're just as fun to read.**

 **Quick thing before you start reading, though. I put up a poll on my profile, since I really want to know the way readers imagine this fanfiction. Just to know if there's a preferred method. I've been writing it neutrally since I know people tend to visualize different things. It'll help plenty for later chapters, so go on and vote, please!**

 **That said, enjoy this chapter~!**

* * *

Sailor hummed in concentration as she looked over the checklist for the knights' trip to shiver Star. She looked at the polished silver star ship carefully. It seemed just fine, really, although Sword and Blade were the experts on this.

She sighed. Why did they have to be the ground troops instead of those traitors...

A small purple robot hovered up to her, its lower body slowly rotating. "anything the matter ?" it asked a bit choppily.

"No. Just looking over the ship, Javelin. Uh, it hasn't been used in a long time and Meta Knight is going to use to make the trip to Shiver Star today. I just hope it makes it."

"nothing wrong then ." the hovering droid confirmed after a short delay.

"...I gotta get around to upgrading you..." Sailor muttered, "Maybe after the two leave today. There will be plenty of time then..."

The door to the hangar opened, and Sailor looked over at the entrance. She greeted the Captain with a salute.

"At ease," he mumbled, clearly not in the mood. "What's the report?"

She dropped the gesture and looked him over carefully. His cape was wrapped around himself in a guarded manner, and he was speaking quieter than usual.

Right, no jokes.

Sailor cleared her throat. "I was checking over the ship...it's a bit past its prime, but it should get you to Shiver Star. Uh, I don't know about getting back though. I'll pack spare parts and tools just in case, but other than that you'll be on your own."

"It's fine. If need be, we'll _fly_ home, but we need to get rid of any remains of Haltmann's takeover.

"From four planets away? Heh, uh, you're not a robot-" Sailor stopped short, eyes widening at her slip-up. "I-I meant-"

Meta Knight sighed, ignoring that part. "Popstar isn't completely out of Haltmann's reign. Kirby chased him off, but I'll sweep up the remains."

Sailor contemplated. "I guess you're right. But just don't overdo it. Uh...you've done so a few times before." She held her breath, feeling she stepped just a _bit_ too far.

"...I suppose so," Meta Knight said after a long pause. "But I've improved since then, of course."

Sailor sighed audibly in relief. "Yeah, you have. It's easy to forget though, since you've been the greatest for a long time now."

Meta Knight smiled slightly under his mask before clearing his throat. "So, we're set to head out now?"

"You should be," Sailor looked up, "If Galacta were here already."

Oh, right. Him. "...He might be a bit late to rise..." Meta Knight commented with a twinge of amusement in his voice.

Sailor looked at him. "What did you do...?"

Meta Knight shrugged. "Nothing he didn't deserve."

"Oh my gosh," Sailor groaned. "I hope you didn't hurt him too much. You two need to get Shiver Star."

"He can _walk_." Meta Knight assured her.

Sailor reddened a bit, "Er, I mean, at least try and control yourselves."

"He starts it...I wouldn't finish if he weren't so wild."

"Okay," Sailor said quickly, "That's too much information."

"...What?" Meta Knight asked.

"What?"

The door slammed open. Galacta had his shield gripped tightly, and was obviously in a worse mood than plain grumpy.

Sailor blinked. Oh, that's what...She thought that...well, never mind that. Galacta's wing had a burnt patch on it. She was about to comment on it until Meta knight spoke up first.

"It's late." He scolded. "We should be leaving by now."

"I should be flying by now but nobody can get what they want." He shot back, shoving his good wing in Meta Knight's face again.

This time he did pluck a feather in spite, which offended Galacta. Cue louder arguing.

Sailor inwardly sighed as the two started up again. She just wanted to work on Javelin. "Uh, didn't you just say it was late?"

Meta Knight paused and blinked, having one of Galacta's horns gripped tightly. "Yes, it is." he seemed to realize they were just wasting time now. He looked a bit embarrassed and yanked his cape from Galacta's hands. "Stop fooling around, Galacta Knight."

Said warrior scoffed and muttered, " _If I had my lance_..."

The Bat ignored the half threat and headed to the star ship. "Follow me."

As Galacta trailed behind with Sailor, Meta Knight began an explanation. "As I said yesterday, we'll be traveling to Shiver Star. It might take a few days, but it's a better alternative to barging in and attempting to tamper with Star Dream."

"I like the sound of that. Just destroy all of it." Galacta piped up eagerly.

"No." Meta Knight replied, expecting a suggestion like that. "I was actually considering keeping the computer core around. We'll have to fix it, and make sure it doesn't fall in the wrong hands, but it'd be a great defense for Popstar."

"I don't know..." Sailor spoke up this time. "I don't think I want anything to do with those creeps around here."

"Technological advancement is a good thing, just not the way they were going about it. It's...It can be compared to..." Meta Knight trailed off, sounding a bit sheepish. He never liked talking about his own faults...few as they were, of course.

The Knight cleared his throat, "Anyway, Galacta. We're going in this star ship." he pointed to the silver spacecraft.

Upon hearing his name, Galacta turned to pay attention. "Huh? Oh. That?" He sounded disgusted. "Isn't it a one person vehicle? I don't want to be near you."

Meta Knight blinked. "You've seen one before?"

"Of _course_. How _old_ do you think I am?"

"Well, the blueprints to the Halberd _did_ have to be updated to be rebuilt and you've never seen one..." Meta Knight coughed, looking aside.

" _Isn't the ship a one-person vehicle?"_ Galacta repeated venomously.

"Er...No. Normally, they would be, but this one's been modified."

"Yeah," Sailor quipped, "It's a one-and-a-half person vehicle now. Cozy."

"It is a tight fit," Meta Knight admitted, "But I'm not wasting the Halberd's fuel on a two-man trip."

"And it's cold there. I refuse to go." Sailor complained.

"Nobody invited you." Galacta stated.

"Darn it, I wanted to go to the barren wasteland with you guys," Sailor sighed wistfully. "Now I'll have to stay here in the comfort of the Halberd, catching up on my hobbies and ordering everyone around."

Galacta squinted at her. "You're _extremely_ lucky I don't have my lance."

Sailor hesitated at responding to that; She was no fighter, and also smart enough to not poke at crazy ones. Seeing the Waddle Dee's discomfort now, Meta Knight stepped forward. "Get in the ship now. I'm steering." His voice was low and warning.

The capped Dee settled down as Galacta begrudgingly made it to the ship in a few short flaps. "He's crazy," she muttered.

"Quite a bit, yes." Meta Knight agreed, but nobody was safe from his lecturing, "You, on the other hand, should know better than to be sarcastic to someone you don't know."

"But it's too easy."

"He is easy, but-" the Bat paused as Sailor let out a laugh. "What?"

"Uh, nothing. ...Just focus on your wording, will you?" She offered, grinning. "I'll stop being so sassy if you do that."

Not really following, Meta Knight decided to drop it. "Fine, yes. I'll 'watch my wording.'" he promised. "Now go open the door."

Sailor saluted, "Good luck on your trip!" she giggled uncharacteristically, and headed to the exit.

 _Hmn...even after several years on this planet, Waddle Dees still exhibit strange behavior,_ Meta Knight mused, _Or maybe it's just her._

Meta Knight turned, walking the few feet to the ship. It doesn't matter. What does is getting to Shiver Star and back as quick as possible and _oh, he just realized why Sailor laughed at what he said- he had called Galacta **easy** without realizing it._

The Bat stopped, embarrassed at that slip-up, even if only Sailor had heard it. _She better not spread that around..._

Hmn, she should know better really, so he wasn't too concerned.

"Hurry up, Bat!" Galacta called out impatiently from the ship, reclined comfortably over the passenger seat and wings splayed so it was partly in the driver's seat.

...The only problem would be not thinking about it much since Galacta was the person he slipped up about.

Meta Knight began walking again. _Okay. Don't think about it. That should be simple. You have more important things to spend your time thinking about. Like how cold it'll be in Shiver Star. And when you get back, how you'll make a proper parfait and actually get to eat it. See? **Easy** enough._

He groaned aloud in annoyance right when he made it to the ship, and Galacta immediately took it as an insult.

"What?! I'm not any more thrilled about this than you are! Do you think I want to go?!"

"I think you're _easy_ to rile up!" Meta Knight snapped, feeling frustrated at... _everything._

 _And there's the word again!_

He shook his head and climbed in, and briefly wondered if he could have said anything else recently that could be taken the wrong way. ...Eh, low possibility.

Starting up the engine of the ship as the door of the hangar was opened, Meta Knight focused on staring hard ahead. Galacta was already shifting uncomfortably in his seat and they haven't even moved.

 _He gets restless so easily,_ Meta Knight noted.

 ** _easy easy easy easy easy._**

...Curse Sailor, for pointing his mistake out. This was going to be a long ride...


	6. Ship Trip

**Oki doki. The reviews were acting a bit strange for whatever reason but they finally appeared today. The results of the poll so far is one humanized and two puffballs. I asked because I tend to write things neutrally so it can be imagined as either one when one reads it, and I wanted to know if there was a preference for how the knights and characters were imagined.**

 **I myself imagine it as a mix between the two, since I'm always so indecisive. :p** **However, things will still be written generally.**

 **Anyway, the ship _easily_ takes off here now, so enjoy the read!**

* * *

It was subtle and infrequent at first, and it was clear that Galacta thought he was being _so_ clever. Meta Knight ignored it, focusing instead on the vast space in front of him. Galacta would get bored soon enough and he'd stop.

The feathers drifted slowly across his cape at first, spreading fully until it was hanging behind the seat. A few minutes would pass before he would suddenly swipe it back, hitting him in the process.

To be honest, Meta Knight took it as an accident, there were times when his wings were difficult to steady, but hours of the same thing happening every so often was just _ridiculous._

"Stop that." He muttered in annoyance when Galacta swiped his wing back for the umpteenth time.

"Stop _what_?" was the obviously-not-innocent reply.

"You know what." Meta Knight stated, not bothering to look at him.

"Never." Galacta said quietly after a short pause.

Meta Knight ignored him, and the pink warrior actually managed to keep his wings still for several minutes.

...

Galacta reached over and smacked Meta Knight on the back of his head with more force than necessary. In fact, he didn't bother holding back and the ship lurched forward in a burst as the Bat's face collided with the accelerator.

 _Thank Nova for armored masks_ , Meta Knight thought blankly before narrowing his eyes. He twisted the helm of the ship suddenly so the ship performed a barrel roll.

As he wanted, Galacta's fat head hit the window. "Ow," he complained as Meta Knight up-righted the star ship.

"Behave," he ordered and glanced at the pink warrior's side of the ship. "Ugh, you scratched the pane with your horns..." Meta Knight griped.

Galacta looked at the glass self-consciously, rubbing his head. "You're the one who did the unnecessary spin." he defended.

"So that hit you gave me was necessary?"

"Yes."

Meta Knight scowled. "You're flying outside the ship next time."

Galacta sighed in annoyance and leaned back in his seat. "It'd be better than being stuck in cramped places."

The knight paused, musing over the meaning of that.

 _Cramped places. The elevator, the ship...the crystal._

The Bat stared out at space.

 _From being summoned to fight the one who's already defeated him once, and then dragged along to help him..._

(" _It is to help him as well_ ,") Galaxia interjected, (" _Do not forget that._ ")

Meta Knight pondered this.

 _That was true. When I was stuck in the crystal, and it was only for a short time, it was horrifying._

The Bat remembered that he was only half aware of his thoughts and the time that passed. Imagine being there for who knows how long...

That was part of the reason why he had struck a deal with Nova to have Galacta Knight help him out. Even if the lancer had destroyed planets, there was no justification to leaving someone perpetually trapped in a way that leaves them aware of their demise.

 _Be it in a crystal, or a forced programming._

Meta Knight turned slightly to try again at being friendly when Galacta's wing hit him once more at his back. The knight's sympathetic mood melted to frustration easily. He spread his own wings and flapped them wildly at Galacta who recoiled in surprise.

" _Stop_ doing that!" he berated.

Galacta swatted at the bat wings in irritation, "That one **was** an accident!" He managed to grab hold of one successfully and pulled hard.

" _Ow-!"_ Meta Knight blurted, letting go of the wheel and trying to get his wing carefully out of Galacta's grip while still being angry. "Will you ever stop acting like a child-?!"

"Maybe when you stop being so aggravating!"

"Me!? I was doing nothing!"

"Yes, you were! You little..." Galacta griped, glaring. "You're being..."

The ship once again spun, although this time it veered off-route and began to head in a different direction.

Meta Knight noticed after a few seconds, "The ship!" He pushed himself back and steered it back on course with a bit of resistance. "Okay. Seriously. Stop that. We're going to get lost if this keeps up. I'm not looking forward to-"

Galacta reached out, aiming for the closest wing again. Meta Knight moved his wing to avoid it being tugged again but it just led to Galacta palming the center of his back, between his wings. He opened his mouth to counter whatever it was the bat was saying but paused when Meta Knight shuddered.

The warrior snapped his hand back, as if he touched fire, "...What was that?"

"Nothing," Meta Knight replied, though he sounded guarded. "Just stop." He was in no way petty, but as if he were going to say aloud that touch didn't feel...bad.

Galacta seemed to get some the message (or at least _a_ message) and they flew on in an awkward silence.

* * *

The lancer stared out the window as stars passed them by in boredom. It's been several more hours since either of them spoke. Occasionally, Galacta would ruffle his wings in an attempt to get the Bat's attention and study the reflection in the window to see if he even glanced over. He didn't know what he was going to do afterwards, but as long as he looked over...

Meta Knight didn't look over. Galacta wasn't sure if he was being ignored or if he was just focusing on steering the ship.

 ** _What's there to focus on? It's just stars and...and nothing!_**

 _Okay, be civil. Just look at him and ask._

Stiffly, Galacta turned to look at him.

 ** _But if he asks, just glare at him._**

 _Right, perfect._

"Hey, Bat..." he trailed off, noticing Meta Knight's more lax posture and half closed eyes.

The knight straightened up. "What?"

"Hmm," he changed up his question on the spot, "I should steer. You look tired."

Meta Knight blinked and stared at him. "Are you kidding..."

"What? You look about ready to drop to sleep."

"I can't even trust you not to hit me while I'm steering. What makes you think I'd trust you to take us to Shiver Star and not crash into some planet?"

"Because...you're tired?" Galacta guessed.

Meta Knight actually considered this for a split second. Then he wondered why he even did consider it. Maybe he was tired. "Right...no." he answered.

"What?" Galacta frowned, "I'm _offering."_

"And I'm refusing..." Meta Knight grumbled. "I'll just set it to auto-pilot while I sleep."

"You trust a **_computer_** over me?" Galacta seethed.

"Yes."

"Oh." he sounded disappointed.

Meta Knight felt a bit of guilt almost instantly. Would it really be that harmful to let him take over for a few hours..? He did need to be well rested. They could be at Shiver Star by morning, and Galacta Knight didn't need to be supervised all the time...

 _Nova, he really was tired._

Shaking his head, he leaned forward and pressed a few buttons to set the coordinates to Shiver Star. "Don't touch anything while I'm asleep. I'll know if you do. You go to sleep too. We'll be there in the morning."

"I'm not sleepy, and it's _boring_."

"Well, you can be tired in the cold, but I won't be." Meta Knight leaned back in his seat, shifting to get comfortable.

Galacta growled quietly. "You can also not trust me in the cold."

"Only if you give me reason not to." Meta Knight mumbled, contemplating whether he should take off his mask or not. It didn't really matter, he supposed. He removed it and placed it beside him.

The pink warrior didn't reply, holding his breath as he stared.

Not hearing an answer, Meta Knight looked over in question. Galacta had already turned to the window again. Hmn.

"Good night." he tried.

Galacta ignored him, apparently offended at not being trusted.

Meta Knight sighed quietly, and got comfortable once more. He closed his eyes and eventually dozed off.

* * *

The pink warrior wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he was sure he waited long enough. Meta Knight's steady breathing was constant and he hadn't heard any shift in movement for a while.

Galacta finally chose to peer at Meta Knight. Asleep for sure. He turned around all the way now, perching himself comfortably on the seat. He was frowning of course, refusing to treat the bat well even if he wasn't awake.

He slipped off his own mask and purposely let it clatter to the floor of the ship. His eyes traveled back to him to make sure it wasn't enough to wake him up.

Meta Knight stirred a tad, but nothing past that.

 _Good, he isn't that light of a sleeper._

With that discovered, Galacta rested his cheek on his hand, which in turn leaned on the armrest of the seat. He eyed the bat closely for a few minutes. Stretching his wing out and over to the Bat's sleeping form, the feathers on the edge stroked the knight's face lightly.

Meta Knight shuffled, weakly waving his hand about in an attempt to get rid of the itching.

The feathered wing was brought back just out of reach, waiting for a few seconds before dipping down again, trailing lightly.

The Bat huffed, swatting at the feathers with none of the reflexes he had while awake.

Galacta let the faintest of smiles appear on himself, highly amused by this. His wing lowered again, trailing light circles on the Bat.

"Stop it..." Meta Knight muttered, making Galacta pause.

 _You don't have an explanation for this, do you?! He's not going to believe you were just stretching or whatever excuse you come up with._

The warrior was ready to defend himself before realizing the knight was still asleep. He had just talked in his sleep.

 _So he does complain 24/7._

Galacta let his wing relax. He knew the Bat was at least slightly ticklish. Honestly, Galacta was interested in the same spot as before-in between the Bat's wings-but the way he was laying made that impossible.

 ** _Maybe later._**

For now, he'd be content with just pestering him quietly, and without him knowing.

Without him realizing it, the tip of his wing had lowered enough to brush against the sleeping bat once again and gave him the chance to roughly grab it.

Galacta winced at the twist in his wing but bit his tongue to keep quiet.

 _ **Quiet? Why?! He's doing that on purpose.**_

 _He's asleep, Galacta reasoned, he doesn't know what he's doing._

 ** _..._**

Meta Knight pulled the wing closer, and Galacta had to inch forward to keep it from hurting too much. _Not that he minded-_

Ow, okay, no. Now he was twisting it too much, Galacta leaned forward over the armrest, careful not to make much movement. He was starting to get a bit annoyed until finally the Bat stopped shifting around so much. Galacta's darted over to him to see if he can just scoot back again.

Ugh. He was cuddling, or something.

 _Aww._

 ** _It's uncomfortable._**

It was, but Galacta still didn't mind _too_ much, and he stayed a while in his awkward position.

 _You might as well go along with it...get comfortable near him and go to sleep._

He refused to move for several seconds, caught between his pride and what he wanted to do. It was late, and waking up the Bat now would just make things worse.

 _ **But I don't want him to even think I wanted to be near him.**_

Deciding on a compromise, Galacta shifted his wing slowly away but sat next to Meta Knight.

"..." This felt... _nice..._

And he supposed that the stars weren't that bad to look at when it wasn't from behind a supposedly unbreakable seal that constricts your every movement just because you destroyed a _few_ planets.

Not to mention, he actually had company...well, the Bat was asleep and not exactly aware at the moment, but company nonetheless.

 ** _Company? He's the one who took your title, the only thing you had left._**

Galacta Knight blinked, a bit perplexed. He very clearly wanted his role of Strongest Warrior back.

 _Yeah, but..._

 _ **But what?**_

 _Should I be thinking about this now?_

 ** _Why shouldn't you?_**

"Because the view is _nice_ ," Galacta spoke aloud in annoyance by accident. He tensed when Meta Knight stirred.

 _Don't wake up don't wake up don't..._

He didn't wake up, but the Bat leaned against him, apparently enjoying the soft feathers and warmth.

 _ **Don't let him get comfortable.**_

"..." Galacta ignored that and leaned back. He stared at the stars in silence. Now he was comfortable too, and he was beginning to feel sleepy.

The warrior let out a sigh, and drifted off to sleep.


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

**Anyway, thanks sooo much for the reviews! :D They lift my spirits, and I'm super glad that my story's been enjoyed so far! The last chapter was also incredibly cute to write!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter, guys...**

* * *

Alarms blared and the lights flashed red in the starship, making Meta Knight jolt awake. He didn't notice how close the other knight was, and instead grabbed on to the helm automatically.

"..." He looked around the control panel to figure out what happened. The auto pilot was fine, so what...?

Oh. Meta Knight felt a bit sheepish as he saw the 'engine failure' symbol lit up. He supposed that barrel rolling twice on such an old ship would _probably_ not be good for it...

Tapping a few times on the helm, Meta Knight contemplated what to do. Of course, a groggy mind and sleepy panic hardly helps anything.

He suddenly remembered the other person on the ship, and he turned, shaking him. "Galacta Knight, get up. How can you not be awake yet."

"Ugh, leave me alone," Galacta groaned, placing a wing to cover his face. "Shut that thing up too while you're at it..."

"If I leave you alone, you'll explode!" Meta Knight blinked and felt his face, "Oh, my mask. Where is it...?"

Since this was the obvious priority, the bat looked around. "Get up!" he ordered, "I have to have my mask, then I'll land it on Shiver Star..." Meta Knight glanced out the window. "Are we even here?"

The marvelous white planet slowly turned down below. It was a breathtaking sight. Clouds as white as the planet's perpetual snow swirled around the atmosphere, letting more snow fall slowly to the ground. Even from far, there where shimmering glints of silver from the abundance of factories that made Shiver Star renowned.

"Yes," Meta Knight muttered amidst the still-blaring alarms while looking at the map of Shiver Star (and not Shiver Star itself, for some reason) closely. "We're here."

He kept looking at it for a few seconds before remembering that the engine was making them hurtle toward the planet below. He rolled up the map and turned to the still sleeping warrior. "Galacta Knight, wake _up,_ " he ordered, emphasizing each word with a swift strike.

"Get away from me!" The warrior griped, removing his wing and glaring up, "I let you sleep, now leave me _**alone."**_

The change in his voice would unsettle almost anyone else, but Meta Knight just looked annoyed. "The ship's already too old to handle long distances, and your little stunt yesterday caused all of this."

"My stunt?" Galacta asked with a laugh. "You're the one who spun the ship around!" he had to struggle to not look at the scratch his horns had caused.

Meta Knight ignored that bit. "So, even if this is your fault, I'll forgive you."

Galacta blinked, and tilted his head ever so slightly. "Wait a minute. The ship's falling?"

Meta Knight briefly wondered if he was serious, but shook his head. "We'll have to prepare for the crash land. I can steer as best as I can toward the ground but with nothing keeping us in the air, we'll still crash."

"I know how crash landings work, Bat." Galacta grumbled.

"I'm sure you've had your fair share," Meta Knight replied, noting that Galacta hadn't interrupted him this time. "Move over, I'll be controlling the ship."

Galacta sat up, and moved over just an inch or two. Meta Knight rolled his eyes but made his way to the main seat behind the wheel, where he also found his mask. Seeing that, Galacta remembered and reached down to pick his mask off the floor.

"Okay..." Meta Knight stared at the row of buttons before pressing a few. He turned off auto-pilot, the alarm, and the engine symbol. He tilted the direction of the ship so it slanted towards the planet. "We'll be landing in just a few minutes, so brace yourself..."

* * *

The starship skidded along the ground, throwing clumps of snow everywhere. It traveled a fair distance before coming to a stop several feet under a mound of snow. It was still for a while until the hatch on the ship opened.

Meta Knight climbed out, sliding down the edge of the metal. "That was a relatively stable landing, if I say so myself." As Galacta clambered out, the Bat checked his cape to make sure if he had everything.

"I've done better," Galacta told him, "I told you I've driven before. I could have landed much better than yo-" His hand slipped off the edge and he fell face first into snow.

"That's nice," Meta Knight said nonchalantly, staring at the map. "I think we're a bit away from the factory..."

The warrior scrambled up. _He didn't see me, did he?_ He brushed himself off quickly and glanced at the Bat. He shivered a little, the cold kicking in.

 ** _..._**

Meta Knight looked up. "Or...hmn." He looked back down.

Galacta frowned. "What, did you get us lost?"

"No. I just wasn't planning for the crash land."

"Let me see." Galacta demanded, holding out his hand.

"No." Meta Knight replied.

"Let me _see,"_ the warrior insisted, stepping forward.

"No!" Meta Knight turned away, "Just go fall in the snow again."

 _He saw it._

Galacta flustered. "You're going to get us more lost than you already did, Bat!" He reached forward to grab the paper and managed to hold onto a good portion of it.

"Stop, you're going to rip it!" Meta Knight tried to twist the paper out of his grip to no avail. He stepped forward as Galacta inched it toward himself. "I know where we're going, I've been here before!"

"By crashing?!" Galacta raged. He stepped back even more, "Just let me see it! There's no harm to it!" He lifted it up and managed to get the map out of the Bat's grip. "There we go!"

"Give me that _back_!" Meta Knight tried to grab on to it, but the white-winged knight held out of reach, turning and spreading his wings wide to prevent him from reaching the paper. It was too late...

"..." Galacta stopped and stared at the paper. Did they change the format of maps when he was in the crystal...? No, wait... "This isn't a map..." he muttered, looking back at Meta Knight to elaborate.

The Bat had his cape wrapped around himself, his visor pitch-black. "...It isn't." he confirmed.

Although it was easy to figure out why, Galacta decided to mess with him. Finally, he had an edge up on him. He turned to look at him fully, and held up the paper that wasn't Shiver Star's map. "It's a blueprint."

"Yes."

"You were acting like it was a map."

"...Yes."

Galacta shook it to prove a point. " _Why?"_

Meta Knight sighed, looking at a mound of snow elsewhere. "I _may_ have grabbed the wrong document from my desk...and brought that along instead of the map..."

The pink warrior let out a short laugh. Then, when Meta Knight met his eyes in confusion, he burst out into laughter and let the paper flutter to the snowy ground.

"..." Meta Knight frowned, reddening under his mask. "It isn't..." he stopped, realizing that Galacta was simply ignoring him as he laughed nonstop. He stepped to where the blueprints were and snatched it up, placing it in his cape. "Be quiet." he mumbled.

He didn't, not for a good while longer. Eventually, Galacta caught his breath. It felt _great_ to laugh, especially at something _stupid_ the Bat did. ...Silly...

Galacta sighed, and looked over. "So should we just try and find the factory?"

"We're _lost."_ Meta Knight said miserably.

"We can fly."

"Snow and wings don't go together."

"Right," Galacta hummed. "Our best bet...would probably be choosing a random direction and heading there."

"...I'm not fond of the idea of wandering aimlessly." Meta Knight told him.

"We wouldn't have to if _somebody_ didn't bring blueprints!" With his voice tinged with pure amusement, he flicked the Bat's mask and walked ahead a few steps. "So, where do you want to go?"

Meta Knight adjusted his mask, but decided that he partially deserved that. "Starting from the ship, we'll head to the west."

* * *

"...How far did you want to walk...?" Galacta mumbled, trying his best not to shiver. He had one of his wings in front of him to prevent too much snow and wind from getting on his visor, but it was beginning to feel numb. He switched wings, hoping it'd make a difference.

Meta Knight thought about this for a few seconds. "A while longer. We can head back and stay in the ship again if push comes to shove. We can stay in the factory when we find it, to regather ourselves. It's abandoned."

Galacta flexed his wings out, then folded them back. "Okay. I can bear that long." He stared at his shield and held it in front of him in a second attempt to be less cold.

"Great." The Bat adjusted his cape closer and let out a sigh. "Do you think..." He glanced over, and trailed off when he saw the ridiculous stance Galacta was holding against the wind.

 _He struggles more with the wind than he did fighting me._

("Even so, he does seem uncomfortably cold.") Galaxia spoke up. ("Don't you have anything to offer him? It would be in your best interest to keep him content.")

Meta Knight thought about the contents stored in his cape. There wasn't much. He only put the most necessary things in it.

("Like blueprints?")

He ignored that, and glanced over at the other warrior. "Do you...er, my cape is great at keeping heat in."

Galacta turned to him. "...Okay?" he grumbled, annoyed. "Is that your idea of small talk?"

 _ **He's taunting you.**_

Meta Knight paused. "No. I meant that, well. Would you like it for a while?"

His glare softened up. Oh...he was offering it up to keep warm. That changed things. Galacta reddened a little and turned to the direction they were heading.

"I was imprisoned for decades and couldn't move a muscle. I don't need anything like _comfort!_ I'm the strongest warrior in the **galaxy**!" Galacta declared, spreading his wings proudly.

Meta Knight restrained himself on pointing out that Galacta wasn't anymore. He was. Clearing his throat, he spoke up. "So is that a no?"

Galacta paused for a few seconds. The wind was starting to pick up and it was really starting to irritate his wings. He sighed. "Yeah, okay."

The Bat took his cape off for him, flapping his wings once at the sudden rush of cold. He could manage it for a while, and he held it out for the pink warrior. "Just be careful, items stored inside can easily fall out if you-"

"Yeah," Galacta said, practically snatching it. That, and the biting wind waved the Dimensional Fabric around wildly. A whip fell out.

Wait, a _whip?!_ Galacta's eyes widened. What. _What?_

"Oh..." Meta Knight picked it up by the handle. "I used to dabble in this..."

What?! Was he a sadist? Masochist?! Galacta's face would have been hot if it weren't for the icy wind.

"In the end, I decided to just stick with swords."

 _S-swords? Wait, no..._

 _"_ Oh! You meant the weapon you used in _battle._ "

"Yes...?" Meta Knight absently ran his hand along the length of the whip and began to coil it. "What did you think I meant?"

Galacta stared, his eyes following the motion of his hand. _This **Bat.**_ "Nothing." he replied flatly.

"In that case, would you mind storing it back in my cape?" Meta Knight asked, holding out the coiled whip.

Galacta didn't want to touch it, but refusing it would be questionable. He tentatively moved his hand to the whip's handle, grabbed and flicked it rapidly back into the cape.

 _Now that's over with..._

He felt proud of himself for taking care of that pretty well. He looked back at Meta Knight. The Bat was staring at him strangely. "What?" he asked.

"Uh...is the cold too much for you?" he asked.

"Too much? What did I just say about not needing comfort?!"

"Right...well, just put the cape on and we can continue." Meta Knight urged.

Galacta wrapped the cape around him fluidly. It was really strange. His wings were stored away in the Fabric, but it didn't feel cramped.

 _And it was extremely warm._

That's why the Bat was always snuggled in it comfortably, that little hedonist.

...

Galacta grabbed the edges of the cape and did the same thing, gauging the feel. ...Dang it, it was comfortable. He didn't want to admit it.

Meta Knight couldn't help but get a light blush on his face and he turned away. Was Galacta imitating him? For someone who was intent on taking the title of strongest warrior back, he was certainly being rather...flattering.

("Do you feel flattered?") Galaxia mused.

 _Or something..._

Meta Knight turned back to Galacta cautiously. "...Ready to keep going?" he tried his best to keep the waver out of his voice.

The now warm warrior looked at him, "Might as well. My wings aren't numb anymore."

"Okay..." Meta Knight muttered. He walked ahead and avoided looking at the warrior. He wouldn't be able to handle seeing him walk like he usually does with the cape.

* * *

The two knights trudged along through the snow, and the wind was starting to pick up increasingly.

Meta Knight weighed the chance of this direction being the way to the factory against the time they needed to get to the ship before dark. "Perhaps we should start heading back. We can try again tomorrow..."

With the icy wind and biting snow, Galacta didn't seem to hear him. "Galacta Knight." Meta Knight called. With a sigh, the Bat stepped closer and tapped him to get his attention. "Galacta."

Finally the warrior turned. "What?" He said, but Meta Knight could barely hear him.

He leaned closer to be heard without raising his voice. "I think we should get back to the ship for today. The factory probably isn't this way."

Galacta froze, hearing the statement this time but focusing instead on how close he was.

 _Why does he keep doing that?_

"Uh..." Galacta mumbled, eyes glancing to the west as Meta Knight patiently waited for his answer.

 _He keeps getting in your space so..._

 _ **React to it.**_

Kiss?

 _Kiss._

...Okay.

 _ **No!**_

Galacta raised a hand to his mask a bit hesitantly. He was dead set on doing so, but was still a bit...shy? Embarrassed? Uncertain?

But he, as strong as he is, would never back down from anything he decided to do, be it destroying a planet or kissing an irritating bat.

Meta Knight stared at him, a hint of concern for how long it always took Galacta to answer things. "Or do you think..." he began, trailing off.

Suddenly, there was a large crash, and the two knights turned quickly. Coming from the snowy expanse, a large robot with a shadowy underside stomped into sight. It look rusted and in bad condition, but its claws were sharp. It reminded Meta Knight of Heavy Lobster...

The two stepped back, braced for battle. Looks like they were headed in the right direction...

Despite the situation, Galacta was understandably disappointed.

* * *

 **Do you guys remember that episode of the anime where Meta Knight inexplicably saves the kids with a whip and then wraps it in his cape never to speak of it again? Yeah, I do too.**

 **Anyway, there's going to be traces of elements of the Kirby anime in this fic, since it's the best place for characterization. Also, the old robot is HR-E from Kirby 64...just in really bad condition, since it was never shown to be destroyed completely by Kirby.**

 **I think that's all the explanation I have for this chapter. If you do have any questions, feel free to ask away.**


	8. The Storm

The robot didn't give much warning before swinging its large claw around at the two knights.

Meta Knight flapped back out of the way, taking Galaxia out of her sheath. "Galacta Knight, we can-" the Bat stopped, realizing the claw had caught the pink warrior and managed to throw him some distance away.

"..."

He turned back to the bot as a light flashed green on its underside before shooting a laser at him. Meta Knight jumped back again but quickly discovered the laser followed him. Placing Galaxia in front of him to deflect the beam, it shot straight back at the robot and it clanked back, damaged.

Taking the momentary distraction, Meta Knight flew lowly to the downed warrior, landing beside him. "Are you okay?" he asked, keeping an eye on the robot.

Galacta sat up with an annoyed growl. " _What's_ _with your cape?!_ It wouldn't let me spread my wings out!"

"The cape keeps them stored. You'll have to stretch them further than usual to use them. It works better if-"

White feathered wings sprouted out successfully, "Great, thanks." Galacta mumbled, "Now, move!" he flew straight up and avoided the two missiles the robot shot at them. Looking down, he felt relieved to see Meta Knight had jumped to the left in time.

He looked back up, focusing on the attacking robot.

 _ **Fight...**_

What other choice was there?

Galacta flew straight at the large robot, taking out his lance...

No, wait. He looped in the air expertly, doubling back as the robot swung upwards toward him.

 ** _Damn Nova..._**

Galacta glanced at the hidden weapon on his shield. Perhaps...

"Galacta Knight!" the Bat called from the ground.

The flying warrior's eyes darted down to the bat. It was a bit hard to hear with the wind picking up. " _What?"_ He shouted back.

"I'll take him from the rear!"

Galacta faltered. "Watch your _fucking_ _wording, you stupid bat!"_ He shouted, enraged and flustered. He lifted his shield and it began to glow brightly.

"What..." Meta Knight's eyes widened, "I'm-! It's yours and Sailor's fault you take what I say that way!"

"Who the fuck is _**Sailor**_?!" He emphasized the last word by hurling the shield at the robot. It embedded itself into the black underside, just below the metal frame, and sent a shock through the entire body of the attacker.

Meta Knight rolled his eyes, ignoring the last bit. It figures Galacta wouldn't have bothered learning the Waddle Dee's name.

The robot was stunned for several seconds until the electric course the shield had in it ran out. Meta Knight sent out a sword beam, dislodging the shield easily before the robot's claws headed towards him from both directions. He flew straight up to avoid it.

Galacta dove down and caught the shield in midair. He strapped it back as the robot turned to him and shot the green laser. Holding the shield in front of him, Galacta felt the force of the shot push him back some. He growled lowly, flapping harder and focusing on the shield.

It began to glow. Galacta glared and pushed the shield forward, sending out a beam toward the robot. It hit the metal frame, but didn't seem to even dent the armored plating.

The winged warrior was about ready to dive towards again when Meta Knight joined him in the air. "It seems like we can only damage its underside. Our best bet would be attacking the darker area." he said.

Galacta looked from the rusted metal and the inky black of the machine's underside, contemplating. " _Fine."_

Meta Knight stared at him for a few seconds. "Take it easy. This robot isn't much of a challenge. You're just going to get yourself hurt."

The warrior's grip tightened on his shield. " _I **don't** need you telling me how to fight."_

"You definitely need _someone_ telling you to calm down. Perhaps you could have avoided the crystal that way."

Galacta glowered at him, seething. "Well, since you just know _everything_ , you can fight that thing on your _own_!"

Meta Knight was taken aback as Galacta landed on the snowy ground several feet away. He narrowed his own eyes in annoyance.

 _If he wants to act like a child, then so be it._

The Bat dived towards the robot aided by the strong wind, his golden sword gleaming.

One of the claws swung at him, but he swiftly swerved aside the range. He ran his sword along the metal before plunging Galaxia into the bot's vulnerable underside. The blade gleamed and he shot out a Sword Beam before pulling back as the machine recoiled.

Landing in the snow, Meta Knight readied his stance as the robot glared down at him. The claws opened, acting as shears. Meta Knight stepped back as he repeatedly slid his blade off the quick claws. He heard the tell-tale sound of whirring from the robot that it was preparing a few more missiles.

Rolling out of the way, the bombs flew past him. Immediately after he dodged those literal bullets, the robot aimed the green laser at the knight. Meta Knight hopped back and took to the air once again, darting quickly to out-speed the beam.

With the howling wind of the impending blizzard, he had to flap twice as hard just to avoid it.

The bat gasped to catch his breath, and the cold air stung his lungs. Meta Knight squinted past the snow to the machine, wondering how he would beat it if he could barely even see it.

He glimpsed pink some distance away and knew that infuriating warrior was watching every second of the fight.

 _...Although...it was partially my fault,_ Meta Knight mused, _Why would I say something about the crystal if I'm trying to save him from it?_

 _("Focus_ ,") Galaxia warned him. ("It's bad enough that the flurry limits your vision...")

Before he could answer, Meta Knight rose her to clash against the sharp pincers of the Heavy Lobster lookalike in the nick of time. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the dim green light charge up and he barely managed to fly backwards as it shot past him. The claw clamped shut and followed him, looking to throw him out of the sky.

All he needed to do was avoid this and he could get close again. When the robot was distracted, he could-

Meta Knight only realized the machine's second claw was waiting for him outside his field of vision when he felt a sharp pain at his back.

He had flown straight into the pincer.

The Bat winced as it dragged up and spliced into his wing, letting out a short cry before being flung to the ground by the open claw.

As he hit the snow, his blade fell out of his hand and tumbled away from him, out of reach. "Galaxia-!" he reached for her but the machine's other claw slammed down in front of him stopping him in his tracks. Instinctively, he tried to fly but flinched at the stab of pain.

Meta Knight scrambled back, his heart beating fast as now he stared up at the approaching robot.

 _Okay-okay, think. I can't attack, or fly..._

His eyes darted over to Galacta, who was standing now, glaring furiously straight at him.

Swallowing his pride, Meta Knight called out to him. "G-Galacta! Please..."

Meta Knight's heart sank as the warrior spread his wings and took off out of sight.

 _He was just waiting for the first chance to leave._

The robot lowered slightly, aiming its last two missiles at the grounded bat with the low whirring noise.

Meta Knight shut his eyes and turned away, bracing himself.

 _I couldn't even get what I needed for Popstar..._

* * *

Seeing the Bat fight someone else was impressive...not that he'd say it out loud. It did make Galacta itch for another battle with him though.

 **Especially so, since he just _had_ to bring up the crystal situation.**

He glared at the bat fighting easily against the mechanical attacker.

 _ **If he were the one stuck in that crystal, he wouldn't have said that. If he were the one pressured into fighting...**_

Galacta's red eyes followed the Bat as he dodged the missiles easily and flew into the air to escape the green laser.

 _ **If he had his sword taken away, he wouldn't be so confident...**_

The warrior laughed lowly.

 ** _He'll see what we do when he begs for help._**

Gazing back up, Galacta paused when Meta Knight hovered backwards to escape the swinging claw only to get cut deeply by the second claw behind him. The Bat was slammed to the ground, and he saw the gleam of the sword escape his hands.

 _ **Ha. No sword.**_

Galacta stood, clenching his shield tightly.

 _That robot had hurt his bat. **His** bat._

 ** _You can escape now._**

 _Not now._

Galacta glared furiously at the robot, and made brief eye contact with Meta Knight.

"G-Galacta!" the bat called out with desperation.

 _ **Now's your chance! Didn't you want to escape?!**_

 _Not **Now.**_

The warrior spread his wings and took flight. He only had a few precious seconds to set up what he was planning. He stopped in midair where he had a clear view of the _**Nova-damned piece of...**_

The warrior unlatched the dagger hidden in his shield and flipped it to hold it tight. He focused on it, using his anger to propel the energy faster.

 _Being stuck in the crystal, being summoned just to be used as a tool, being dragged along against his will..._

 ** _That robot hurting his bat._**

The dagger's point burned brightly, and Galacta glared down and stabbed it into the air, creating a rift in the sky. He slightly struggled to drag it across a good distance-he was used to the reliable strength of the lance-but it didn't faze him for too long.

The inter-dimensional beam shot out and enveloped the robot in its blast. Even with its tough armor, it stood no chance against the full force of the pink laser. The missiles that were ready to fire detonated, destroying the hatch they were stored in and making the bot rumble dangerously.

It blew apart, sending shrapnel every which way. Galacta glared darkly at the explosion, and his venomous gaze traveled to where the Bat lay.

 _Was he injured...? Could he be saved?_

 _ **Why do you care...you had the chance to be rid of him, you idiot...**_

Galacta frowned. There was still a chance...

* * *

Meta Knight lay on his side, eyes barely open. The missiles...?

The blast wave of the explosion had thrown him back several feet, and he could barely keep a single thought for longer than a fleeting moment.

Breathing was difficult too. The cold air was irritating to his lungs and the wound at his wing.

His wings...

He tried stretching them out absently. Did they even move...

He abruptly stopped when pain shot through him. He let his wings lower to the ground slowly.

 _Moving causes pain. Don't move._

Breathing was getting easier now, it seemed. His eyes stared at the ground before him.

 _Relax..._

The snow...cold, numbing...he could hardly feel...anything now...

It feels nice...

The knight slowly closed his eyes, the white becoming blurry until it was gone.

 ** _Crunch._**

 ** _Crunch._**

 ** _Crunch._**

Snow...someone walking...

Yellow eyes cracked open at the sound. He needed...sleep...

Silver sabatons was heading his way.

Silver...

There was a low laugh. " _How are you the strongest warrior...?"_

Galacta Knight...

 _Keep your guard up. He's dangerous._

The Bat pushed himself to sit up, "Stay away!"

 _He wants his title back._

Galacta paused, but continued after a few seconds. He knelt and reached out slowly.

The knight scrambled back forcefully. He swung wildly and flailed his wings in an attempt to scare him off.

" _Don't move now_ ," Galacta warned. He grabbed his arm firmly.

 _MOVE!_

He struggled violently against the grip, attempting to break free.

 _Survive!_

He couldn't get away.

 _Fight!_

Galacta Knight let go of his wrist and grabbed his face to steady him, and stared straight into his eyes. "Meta Knight."

He froze.

 _"..._ Charmed _."_ He muttered blankly, smiling slightly. The fight left him.

 _Safe..._

His wings slackened, and his body went lax. His eyes slipped closed as he fell.

Galacta reached under him, tenderly avoiding the wound. Adjusting himself so he could pick up the Bat in his arms, he stood up and stared at the sky.

He spread his wings and took off in the direction of the factory.


	9. Gives Me Shivers

**Next chapter up! A super special thanks to KitzyKat for reviewing! I really felt proud of that last chapter, so I was hoping someone would review!**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter too!**

* * *

Galacta spotted the factory after several minutes of flying against the wind. It seemed run down, so it should be the one the Bat was describing. He targeted the tallest tower, since that would be the most secure.

He landed on the sill of the broken window and scanned the room before entering. It looked like it was just an old storage room that was abandoned years before the factory was.

Galacta didn't trust any of the dust-coated surfaces or heavy fabric here so he placed the Bat carefully against a wall, making sure his wing wasn't touching anything. He glanced at his glove, which had been coated with the Bat's blood from his wound.

"...Meta Knight," he mumbled, shaking him urgently. "Wake up. You're going to..." The warrior paused, staring intently. The Bat stirred lightly with a groan. Still alive.

 _But he won't make it if I just wait around until he does wake up to bandage the cut._

Galacta looked around. What could he use...

Getting an idea, he straightened up. There was nothing here to use to bandage the wound properly except...

The warrior swept the borrowed cape from his shoulders. It's a shame to rip it, but right now, stopping the bleeding was more important.

His shield...he had placed the dagger in his shield again. He'd use it to cut the cloth into even strips instead of chancing it.

Okay. The warrior unlatched the dagger from the shield, noticing that it was a bit smudged. Possibly due to overheating in the inter-dimensional beam attack...

Hm...

Galacta grabbed a white rag from the dusty pile of fabric nearby. He glared as the blood from his glove began to soak into the fabric. Shaking it off, he walked over to Meta Knight as he cleaned the dagger.

He should get started now.

The Bat shifted once more, eyes opening dully. The first thing he saw was Galacta walking toward him, wiping a knife down with a smeared red rag.

"Good." the warrior uttered. "You're awake."

Meta Knight recoiled and his eyes darted, looking for a possible way to escape.

"Oh, we're in the highest tower. Nobody can reach us." Galacta explained.

The Bat shuffled back, but hit his wing on the wall behind and he winced.

"Stop moving," the warrior ordered, kneeling down next to the knight. His hand moved toward him...

No, toward the ground.

Meta Knight stared blankly as Galacta picked up dark blue fabric and rose the dagger up to it, ready to cut into it.

Shimmering, gorgeous dark blue fabric.

He finally found his voice. "That's mine. My cape."

Galacta paused and looked at him. "That's right?"

Meta Knight blinked. "Don't cut into it."

Galacta sighed impatiently. "It's to dress your wounds. You're bleeding out." He rose the dagger again, beginning to cut into the rare fabric.

"No." Meta Knight replied. Galacta ignored him. Upon hearing the Dimensional Cape start to rip, he reached out in a panic. "No!"

The warrior grabbed his hand and pushed him back. " _Stop **moving.**_ " he growled.

"I...but-give-!" Meta Knight stumbled over his words before finally managing a coherent sentence. "There's a first-aid kit in the cape. If you cut it apart, everything in it is lost."

Oh. Makes sense, he supposed. Galacta began to reach into the cape before thinking back to the whip. He was **_not_** touching that by accident. He bundled up the cape and pushed it toward Meta Knight.

"Here, then."

Meta Knight accepted it quietly. He spread open the cape and dug inside, fishing out the kit. Setting the cape aside, he flipped open the box and took out the bottle of alcohol.

Twisting open the cap, the Bat leaned slightly to attempt cleaning the cut. Where was it located exactly...? Turning too much proved to irritate the wound.

"Hmn," Meta Knight wondered how to go about this. He arched his back while stretching his good wing.

Galacta watched with increasing frustration before finally snapping. "You look _ridiculous!"_ he shouted, snatching the open bottle from the Bat. "Let me do it!"

"Oh...okay." Meta Knight said. "Thank you."

The warrior shook his head, muttering under his breath. He scooted forward, and tipped the bottle over the Bat's wing.

Meta Knight grunted lowly at the sudden rush of the disinfectant, but otherwise remained quiet.

"Wimp." Galacta scoffed, then ordered him, "Now pass me the gauze."

The Bat reached over, and grabbed the first soft white thing in the kit to hold back.

"...Baaat. I said gauze, not cotton." Galacta pointed out lightly.

Meta Knight slowly brought back the item he held to look at it. "Oh," he reddened a bit, placing it back in the kit and picked up the bandages. "Sorry."

Galacta didn't answer right away, focusing on the task at hand.

"Don't move now." he told him, starting to wrap the base of the wing.

Meta Knight stared distantly at the far wall, waiting patiently for the warrior to finish. It felt well-wrapped. He wasn't surprised that Galacta was adept at treating wounds. Although, while it'd be enough for now, they would have to get back on Popstar for professional treatment. The Bat knew he wouldn't be able to fly until-

He tensed up.

"What's the matter?" Galacta asked him, "You can't be tense while I'm wrapping your wing."

"...Right, I..." the Bat blinked, lowering his wings. "I know that."

Galacta stifled his laughter by clearing his throat. "Then stop tensing up."

Probably due to embarrassment, the Bat didn't answer. The warrior smirked.

 _So that's what it was._

Making sure his giddiness was kept under wraps, Galacta continued dressing the wound.

 _Don't do it too often. He'll start to suspect._

He couldn't help but glance at the Bat's back every so often anyway.

Now?

 _No._

...

Do it!

 _No._

Just once more.

 _Focus on the wing._

Between the wings!

 _Stop._

But it's right there!

 _..._

...

 _Okay, fine. Now._

With all the excitement of...well, whatever thing was exciting, Galacta brushed against the spot between the Bat's wings again, making sure it was more than a fleeting touch this time.

The warrior was pleasantly surprised to hear the low groan the Bat gave out. However, he didn't mask the short chuckle this time and Meta Knight spoke up with a twinge of annoyance.

"What are you doing?"

Keeping a straight voice, Galacta shrugged. "Dressing your wound?" he paused to sound convincing. "Sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"...Yes." Meta Knight mumbled, "Watch your...hands."

Galacta turned away, biting down on his gloved hand, barely holding back from a second burst of laughter. "I will." he 'promised.'

Meta Knight slowly let a breath out at that.

 _It won't happen again. Don't think about it._

To distract himself, the Bat focused hard at a pile of fabric some distance away.

 _There's...so much dust. This is an abandoned factory so I shouldn't be surprised._

The knight tried to think of some other thought to distract himself with to no avail. He was extremely aware of every shift, graze, and tug Galacta made on his wings now.

 _Stop thinking about it. This is just to help my wing heal. Nothing more._

He kept this thought process up until Galacta was nearly finished with the bandaging.

The warrior had one final chance left, however, and he took it without hesitation. As he finished the final tie on the wrappings, he placed his palm between the Bat's wings, smoothly and briefly stroking it. Immediately afterward, he cut off the extra gauze and waited eagerly for the reaction.

 _Oh. The Bat didn't do anything this time...Perhaps he's tired._

"I'm done now. Rest up." Galacta told him, deciding to let up on the teasing. For now, at least.

Meta Knight barely nodded, but didn't move aside from that. "Thank you."

The warrior didn't question this but patted the silly bat on the head as he stood up. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go destroy some things." he said, grabbing the dagger and his shield.

Meta Knight nodded again, without looking back. "Have fun." he replied in a monotone voice.

...Galacta was a bit disappointed that the 'thanks' was all he was getting, (not even a 'wow, you're the best Galacta?') but was okay with the fact that he had something else to laugh about.

The warrior flew out through the window, and finally burst out into laughter outside of the factory.

Meta Knight barely heard it. His face was completely flushed red and he stared intently at the space in front of him.

 _Don't think about it..._

It might have been perpetually cold on this planet, but the heat didn't go down for a while.

He was trying his best.

* * *

Meanwhile, after he got over laughing at the Bat's predicament a few minutes ago, Galacta flew along the snowy planet, once again feeling light after not flying for so long.

He sighed contentedly. The sky was infinitely better than being in a cramped ship or dusty factory.

...But...

Galacta slowed to a hover a bit of distance away from the factory. He couldn't go too far now.

 _ **Why not...**_

He supposed here would be a good place as any to practice a bit.

 ** _What good is it without your lance?_**

 _He has the dagger. He can use that..._

Absent-minded, the warrior returned the worn-out dagger to his shield. He wanted to keep it, since he was surprised that it was actually able to handle the inter-dimensional beam.

 _Or maybe not...?_

 _ **Just destroy something already.**_

Galacta scanned the mostly barren field of snow. There were a few trees here and there. But with what?

 _ **Lance.**_

I don't have that.

 _Dagger._

"I just put it up." Galacta said in annoyance. "I'll use my shield. It's just as handy."

 _ **No, it isn't.**_

The warrior sighed. That was true.

 _But it's better to practice with it, now that you don't have the lance._

Yeah. Okay.

He landed, and began focusing on his shield, targeting the closest tree.

* * *

After managing to calm down after several minutes, Meta Knight laid back against the wall. He should try and sleep. The sudden awakening for the crash land, and the fact that he had a weird dream during the night didn't help.

 _Something about a bird with a big head bothering me...?_

Meta Knight sighed. At least he was able to sleep comfortably in the end.

If only he were able to get comfortable here.

...

The Bat blinked at the realization that it was silent.

"Galaxia?" he asked aloud, sitting up and looking around. His eyes landed on his cape.

No, she wasn't in there. He was fighting when...

Oh, he had dropped her in battle against that rusted robot. He'd have to get her soon...

His wings spread slightly, but then he winced.

 _Later._

Thinking of the fight and its outcome, Meta Knight thought back to the events of it.

 _Galacta Knight. Quite odd. He had left, and taunted me when I was defenseless._

The memory of faintly being aware of anything that happened after that large explosion except pure fear unsettled him.

The knight flinched slightly when he heard a distant crash outside the factory, but relaxed when he deduced that it was likely only Galacta making good on his statement from earlier.

 _He could have let me die..._

Meta Knight shuddered. He loathed to think what would have happened if...

 _He didn't let me die. That's what matters. Maybe I've just been too harsh on him._

The knight mused this for a while longer before finally feeling tired enough to try and doze off, despite his injured wing...

* * *

Galacta sighed as another shield blast landed on the large tree's trunk and sent it crashing down. Now he remembered why he stopped using the shield beam.

 _ **It's not as satisfying as destroying planets.**_

"I meant that it's not effective."

 _ **Not effective at destroying anything.**_

The warrior ignored that voice, annoyed.

 _Just go back to the factory now. It's getting cold._

That sounds better, Galacta decided.

He spread his wings and started to head back to the factory.

The warrior made it to the open window again and landed somewhat heavily.

Meta Knight, who was just beginning to doze off, jolted up again at the landing.

Galacta scowled. "You're supposed to be asleep."

"...It's difficult to, with the injured wing and you stomping everywhere..." Meta Knight muttered, squinting at the arrival.

"..." the warrior stomped forward purposely.

The Bat groaned. "What did you want?"

"For you to go to sleep! I took care of your wing for a reason!"

"Then be quiet long enough so I can do that." the knight replied. "I'm trying to sleep, but my wing still hurts. It also isn't so comfortable leaning against the wall..."

Galacta thought for a few seconds.

 _The Bat does like his comfort. It's cold, run down and he is leaning against his injury on a wall..._

Meta Knight sighed. "Well, never mind. I am just complaining."

 _He looks tired..._

"...Don't you have anything that'll knock you out or something?" Galacta asked, "In that fancy kit of yours."

"Oh, that's right." Meta Knight realized. "Just hand me the first aid kit again, please." He pointed to the box a few feet out of reach.

Galacta swiped up the kit and, as he walked over, noticed the 'M' insignia and the Bat's stupid imprint of his mask on it. He rolled his eyes and shoved it to the injured knight.

"They better not be _weak_ painkillers that last half an hour."

"They aren't." Meta Knight assured him as he took off his mask and set it aside. He opened the med-kit and took out a bottle. "I should be asleep the entire night, so don't cause any damage."

Galacta didn't promise anything.

The Bat sighed, knowing what that silence meant. "Fine, then don't wake me up." He twisted the cap off and shook out two pills.

" _Finally_ something reasonable from you."

Resisting a sigh, Meta Knight opened his mouth to take the first pill.

Galacta blinked and looked closer. Was that...? "You have fangs?!"

Meta Knight reddened, instantly closing his mouth. " _No."_ he spoke lowly after swallowing.

"Let me see," Galacta insisted, leaning forward.

"No. Leave me alone-"

The warrior put his thumbs on the corners of the Bat's mouth and forced it open.

"Whoa..." Galacta marveled, eyeing them closely. "Lucky...that looks _cool."_ He seethed with envy.

Meta Knight blinked in surprise.

 _Is the knight who tried to kill me the other day actually doing this...?_

He blinked again.

 _Complimenting me?_

He blinked once more before he pushed Galacta away and turned, covering his mouth. "Don't do that...please."

 _Time to be tactful._ "Don't you have to take the other pill too?" Galacta asked a bit too eagerly, then added, "Let me see!"

"...No." Meta Knight took the other pill while facing the other direction.

Galacta's wings drooped in disappointment and didn't reply.

After a few seconds of trying to ignore the recent conversation, Meta Knight spoke up again, partly to change the subject and gather his thoughts.

"When I wake up, I'll head out to find the ship and Galaxia."

"Who the fuck is Galaxia?"

"Oh, my Sword. I left her out in the snow."

"You refer to your sword as a _she_?"

Meta Knight didn't reply, deep in thought.

 _After that, the trek to the ship is quite a bit away. I suppose I can return here after getting Galaxia back but that would just waste time. But with my wing out of commission, there's nothing I can really do except take care of it until I can fly. Unless..._

Galacta cleared his throat and Meta Knight blinked, losing his train of thought.

"I think you should go to sleep already." he told him.

The Bat let out a short sigh, looking aside at the pile of fabric from earlier. "Yes...you're right."

 _Perhaps if I head out early enough...No, the wind never dies down here. Think harder. I have my cape, and I need Galaxia and the ship. I also have the wound that hinders me. Even if the cut was wrapped for now by Galacta, it needed to be treated properly as soon as possible. On the Halberd, there was..._

Meta Knight blinked.

 _Galacta could help me. He's proven to be reliable enough to not let me die when given the chance, but the reason I got injured enough was because he abandoned me in the first place. Would he even be willing to go out with me into the cold for a few hours?_

"Ugh, Bat. Go to _sleep."_ Galacta rebuked.

The knight slowly turned back, still contemplating the difficult decision.

 _Just sleep on it._

The pills were beginning to take their effect. Meta Knight gave a drawn-out sigh. "I'll worry about the ship tomorrow, then..."

The warrior barely nodded, a bit annoyed.

 _He shouldn't even be thinking about moving._

 _"_ Oh, and Galacta Knight... _"_ the Bat leaned his head against the wall, staring at the high ceiling of the room.

The warrior grunted, annoyed.

"...Thank you for saving my life, and tending to my wound." Meta Knight spoke up after a few seconds. "I didn't thank you properly before."

 _Finally_ , some recognition.

" _Thank_ you." Galacta said. "Wait, I mean you're welcome." He paused, "You better thank me."

Meta Knight assumed a strange answer was the trade-off to not having to wait for an answer from Galacta.

He began to drift off. "Good night," he mumbled sleepily.

There was a pause, but then Galacta responded quietly. "...Good night."

A few minutes later, the Bat was soundly asleep. The warrior stared for a few seconds longer before giving a low sigh.

 _He's uncomfortable._

 **So? He deserves it.**

For what?

 **Stealing your title. Dragging you along.** _ **Existing.**_

He...

 _He doesn't mean any harm._

Does he?

The pink warrior kept his eyes on the sleeping Bat.

Either way, the knight wanted to work at getting them off planet again when _he_ was right there.

 _ **He can work himself to death. Let him be.**_

Galacta's gaze moved to the cape that still laid on the floor.

 _You can do something nice for him..._

I can...The Bat would surely overwork himself if given the chance. Galacta would just have to make sure everything was done by the time he woke up to prevent that.

 _What did he say? The ship, his girly sword, and that he wasn't comfortable..._

Ah, got it!

Galacta stepped over carefully, picking up the Bat's cape. He began to rummage through it, faltering upon feeling the cord of the whip but ignoring it otherwise. He was sure that the Bat...

 _There we go._

The keys to the starship. Galacta mused for a few seconds. Didn't the Bat say something about...?

' _If you cut it apart, everything in it is lost_...'

The warrior blinked and laughed.

"That would have been a problem." he said in amusement, throwing the keys up and catching them.

 _Okay. Get to the ship and drive it here. Next, get the sword. When you return, you can find something comfortable for him._

Why not get the comfortable thing now?

 _He's asleep. How can he thank you for that?_

Oh, yeah. Okay.

Galacta swept the cape around him, feeling dashing and cool once more.

 _Time to go._

He walked to the window and spread his wings before pausing.

Hmm...

Walking back to the sleeping Bat, he knelt next to him quietly.

The warrior rose a hand to Meta Knight's face and carefully stroked his cheek...

Grabbing the corner of the Bat's mouth again, he opened it and stared at the fangs in marvel. He had four, two on the top and a smaller set on the bottom.

"Nice," he commented to himself before stepping off. "Okay, off we go now."

Spreading his cape-enveloped wings, the warrior took off toward the direction of the remains of the robot.


	10. When the Bat's Away

**And _here we go._ So sorry for the long wait, guys! I just really hit a snag in the story I wanted to tell. I was stuck on a certain part of this chapter for an extremely long time, but at least it's a longer chapter than usual? :D ...**

 **Happy super late Valentine's...and every other holiday I missed while not updating...hahaha...**

 **Anyway to ImSpiderman, you don't know how much I laughed that image of Meta Knight. Thanks for sharing that interesting thought, I loved it. xD**

 **And The Herobrine Hunter and DDoJ, For this story, I'll have to go ahead and say that there is no Marx, since there isn't really a way to include him here without it feeling forced. However, this isn't going to be the only Kirby story I write. Even if he is dead in canon, well, this is already an AU, so anything goes. It would be really interesting as well.**

 **Thanks to everyone else who has reviewed, and apologies once again for neglecting the story. Oh, and by the way, this is a humanized fic now. I feel it flows better that way. There's an artist who will be drawing designs and scenes from this fic, but they still need to set up the account, so I'll be announcing who in the next chapter~**

* * *

The cold wasn't numbing now, at least. The cape _was_ great at keeping heat in.

Galacta glanced at the barely setting sun, then down at the snow to see if he can find any distinguishing landmarks.

Nothing so far...

Oh, wait a minute.

Pieces of debris of that robot.

 ** _Ha ha ha ha..._**

He was heading in the right direction, but deciding to check out the site of destruction that _he_ caused, Galacta landed down near the site and began to look around.

The body of the robot was completely destroyed, but the claws had managed to stay out of the blast radius.

 _Disappointing, but it could have been worse for the Bat otherwise. Besides which, **he could still destroy the claws now.**_

Right...but for now, Galacta looked around the area, searching for the sword the Bat talked about...

 _Maybe on the other side?_

He spread his wings and flew above one of the claws to perch on it and look around.

A golden shimmer caught his eye before long, but he lingered a few seconds longer to remember the sword's name. "Something like...Gala...Zion...Nebula?" he mumbled, jumping down to land a few feet away from the blade. Yeah, that sounded about right.

"But why name his weapon..." he wondered aloud.

He made his way to the blade and reached out to pick it up. As soon as he touched the hilt, a jolt of electricity shot out.

"Ow! What the fuck...? Did I hold it wrong?" He asked aloud.

 _Best try again...maybe?_

Galacta stared at the golden blade suspiciously. "You better not shock me again...dumb sword."

Using two hands this time, Galacta was sure the shock was a lot stronger, but he managed to keep holding it for a few seconds and lift it off the snowy ground before dropping it.

"Agh!" he muttered, kicking snow on the blade. "He can get you himself. Stupid..."

The warrior took off again, flying angrily.

 _Okay, forget the sword for now. There's still the ship to get to and bring back._

Since he could forego walking, it took less time than when they had traveled together.

Still, it was a little boring as he flew alone. The warrior decided to spend the time doing midair tricks as he went along.

He sped up, and as he completed flips, twists and even loops, he realized he had almost forgotten how fun flying was.

 _Almost..._

He closed his eyes, considering.

 _Even with the biting wind...it's much better compared to being imprisoned. Maybe...you should be nicer to the Bat, for getting you out...?_

 _ **You've done enough for him already. You didn't kill him.**_

You're the one who got me into the crystal.

 ** _You listened._**

Galacta opened his eyes now with a hard stare. That was enough.

He flew on for a a while longer before spotting the abandoned ship, which was almost covered entirely by snow. He had almost missed it.

The warrior circled as he lowered, keeping an eye down below.

Setting foot on the ground, Galacta's wings lowered and instantly 'fell' into the cape.

 _Still so weird,_ he mused as he walked up to the ship and brushed off the snow covering the hatch. Opening it to look around inside for a few seconds, Galacta plopped down at the driver's chair with a smile. The air was still frigid inside but it'd be warmer soon with the engine running and heater on.

 _And I'll show that Bat a thing or two about steering a ship._

Placing the keys in the ignition and turning it, Galacta listened contemplatively to the strange, garbled sounds it made before dying.

...He tried again, but somehow the sounds were just worse and the engine gave out faster.

"Ugh," Galacta groaned, throwing his head back, "Now I'll have to _get out and check it."_

Returning to the blowing wind after being in the still air of the ship was even more annoying than you'd expect. The warrior grumbled under his breath and half wrapped the cape around him as he walked to the front of the snow-covered ship.

He brushed off armfuls of snow at a time and grasped the edge of the hood before he tried lifting it. It wouldn't budge for some reason. Galacta narrowed his eyes.

 _Maybe there was some button somewhere inside that will unlatch it._

...

Galacta tightened his grip on the metal and yanked it up, revealing the engine of the ship.

 _ **Much better.**_

 _Shut up._

Ignoring them both, the warrior looked over the engine.

It was different than what he used to, and he briefly wondered how long he was in the crystal indeed.

 _ **Does it matter...**_

He supposed not. The warrior kept his stare on the slightly unfamiliar build of the engine. He couldn't really tell how bad it was if he could only compare it to a different, older-by-who-knows-how-many-years model.

Galacta slowly clenched his fist and raised it to slam down full force on the engine. It _was_ quite satisfying.

 _That should do it_ , Galacta nodded. He closed the hood roughly, ignoring the new dent, and headed back inside the ship.

He sat back down in the driver's seat and tried turning it on again.

The sound was smoother now, and it ignited properly.

Galacta laughed as he felt the ship rise a few inches from the snowy ground. He knew it would work!

He grabbed the wheel and shoved forward to take off at full speed.

His laughter died off when the ship hovered forward at about the same pace as when he and the Bat began walking.

The warrior blinked and frowned.

" _What?"_ he asked aloud angrily after a few seconds of the same speed.

He forced the helm forward more, pushing it to the limit. The speed increased only slightly.

There was a loud clang and a strange rattle somewhere in the ship. It stopped when Galacta out less pressure on the speed.

With a groan, Galacta leaned his head back on the seat. He kicked out in anger.

Sirens blared loudly, reminiscent of earlier. Galacta jumped and glared at the flashing lights around him.

"How the _ **fuck**_ can that still work if you can't even go faster than a ** _fucking snail!?_** "

The alarms didn't let up, which only made the warrior angrier. His glare darted in the general direction of where he kicked out but several buttons were flashing on the control panel and he couldn't figure out which one was making that _**damned, forsaken noise.**_

His fist tightened again and a red aura covered it before he slammed it into the obnoxiously colorful rows of buttons.

It smashed straight through and he felt wires brush against his glove. He grabbed a handful and tore those out.

Finally, the alarm died down and the flashing red lights flickered before stopping for good.

Galacta sighed in content.

 _Finally, some quiet._

He tossed the wires behind him carelessly. With that out of the way, he can focus on the, ugh, extremely long trip back.

Galacta leaned back in annoyance, keeping a hand on the wheel.

The entire trip will take several hours, since he couldn't even fly a good portion of the way.

Keeping still was _not_ something he enjoyed much anymore, if he even liked it at one point at all.

 _Okay, it's fine. You could think about some things. Something like...Well, try and remember back to before the crystal. It would be interesting to try and figure out how long ago everything started, right?_

...He _guessed_ so.

 _Let me see..._

* * *

 _In the crystal, it was a cramped place. The magic and stone were so set against me. It held me completely still, even up to encasing each individual feather._

He recalled from the other day that it was **Nova** who had granted some wish to seal him away. Since he was focusing on it now...

 _Before the imprisonment...hold on. There was anger, I know that much. Beyond that emotion, really. A ferocity. But at what? Or who? Aside from being sealed away, of course. Was it a particular someone? Or was I only enraged at being trapped?_

 _For now, I just know somebody, somewhere in the universe wished for my demise. It had to be somebody that...loathed me? But that did only narrow it down to people he's fought and defeated. Did they even survive the battle? On the slim chance that they somehow had, I still don't know how long I was sealed away, much less how to even begin finding them._

 _Ugh. This is getting me nowhere..._

 _Think...Beyond the Crystal..._

 _My memories have been cluttered and ignored for so long, it was difficult. Even so...I'm certain that before those countless years, I had the freedom to go wherever I please. But I don't think I ever even stopped to..._

 _..._

* * *

Galacta's soft snores were stopped when he woke up to the sound of scraping metal against the ship.

Groggily, he sat up to look at what was happening.

"I'd be more than happy destroying more of you, stupid ship," he mumbled a threat.

Blinking, Galacta looked out the window to get a clearer picture of his surroundings.

Dark night. A few hours must have passed.

"Ugh," he grumbled, righting the ship's course. The scraping stopped and he glared at the mechanical claw he was passing.

 _Oh, wait. The sword. Should you try once more?_

...Maybe, Galacta considered, It's nighttime now, so it shouldn't be able to shock me!

 _Solar powered?_

Yeah! The warrior let up from pushing the wheel forward and the ship hovered in place.

Galacta got out and was able to see a decent radius with the lights of the ship. He walked around the large broken claw and kept an eye out for the golden blade.

It was noticeably colder now, so the lancer wrapped the cape around himself as the Bat usually did.

In the dark, he saw a red light flash out as if it were calling out to him.

 _The sword._

Galacta stepped through the snow to the sword slowly, a bit suspicious of the

Finally, the crunching of his steps stopped, and he reached down to grab the sword's hilt.

(" _Oh, my wielder_ -!")

He tensed up.

 _It can talk?_

The sword's voice stopped short and there was a brief pause before the warrior was shocked again. Galacta stumbled back in surprise, paused, then glared at the sword in the snow.

"Fine, then! Stupid sword..." He growled, "You don't even deserve a cool name like Nebula!"

The gem flashed red again, and Galacta twitched. It reminded him of the blaring alarms of the _damn ship._

Galacta crouched down and swept snow from the sides to cover the golden blade. The light flashed repeatedly but he continued piling snow until it was a nice, sizable mound and covered the annoying sword.

Satisfied, the warrior flew the short trip back to the ship and closed the door behind him.

"That ought to teach that sword," he mumbled, sitting back down at the wheel. He stared out the windows for a few seconds before standing back up.

 _Hungry. Did the Bat at least pack something to eat?_

Galacta walked to the back of the ship, and rummaged around, tossing things around and letting them fall to the ground if they had nothing to do with food. He was getting a bit impatient when he came across a familiar-looking package.

A familiar, loathed package.

Galacta scowled at the _disgusting,_ _bland, so-called_ rations the Bat had brought. Did he actually expect him to eat those...

The lancer gathered the few packages from the shelves in his arms and began to head to the door of the ship. He kicked open the door and hurled the packages out into the snow. Next, Galacta gripped his shield tightly and it began to glow. With a powerful shield beam, the packs of rations were obliterated.

He sent out another one for good measure, then a third one just for fun.

With a content nod, he reentered the ship and slammed the door. Sitting back down at the wheel and pushing ahead, the ship once again began its slow trip...

Galacta was still hungry, but as if he were touching those disgusting, dry rations.

* * *

Some time later, it felt like _hours,_ and he hadn't even reached the factory yet.

It was now in sight, but still off in the distance. Galacta groaned in boredom for the umpteenth time and shoved the wheel forward as far as it would go and beyond again.

And, once again, the engine clanked loudly in protest. The lancer ignored it for several seconds, glaring at the so-called scenery before him.

At last, something seemed to have shifted in the engine and with a loud clatter, the ship began to speed up.

"Ooh, _finally!"_ he exclaimed, sitting up and grinning at the change of pace. He turned the wheel to go in a few rounds before pushing forward as far as possible for the actual top speed of the ship toward the factory.

Galacta laughed wildly at the rush of the swift speed, and kept up the dangerous move. With a giddy grin, the lancer focused on the rapidly approaching large door of the factory. It was closed, but he could easily fix that.

Standing on the seat while still leaning forward to keep the speed, Galacta broke through the side window and shifted to poke his head out.

 _ **Thrilling.**_

Enjoying the cold whipping air, Galacta spread his wings instinctively and stood up further, placing a foot to keep the ship going fast as he leaned out further. Looking ahead, he spotted a panel next to the large closed doors of the factory. His smile grew as he placed the shield in front of him, charging it up and sending out a blast out to the side of the entrance, breaking the panel but the doors began to open. As they did, he narrowed his eyes to focus inside.

 _The elevator. I can make it._

Galacta stretched out his shield further out, focusing on a small, condensed beam. It had to be precise and shoot out far enough to reach its target. When the factory entrance opened fully, Galacta released the beam. It destroyed the elevator panel with a clear _ding._ The elevator doors began to open slowly.

Galacta gave a triumphant " _Ha_!" and ducked back into the ship. He eagerly pushed forward and awaited the approaching challenge.

It'd be _so_ bad ass when he'd successfully make it into the elevator.

The ship zoomed past the entrance and his grin grew when the elevator doors opened all the way.

Closer, closer...!

"Ahahahaha-urgh!" He laughed triumphantly as the first half of the ship slipped in between the doors fluidly, but was thrown against the wheel when it lurched to a stop suddenly. There was a loud, drawn out scraping of metal outside...

His face hit the wheel full on, but thankfully his mask took the brunt of the blow.

"... _Ow_..." he mumbled quietly, pushing himself away from the wheel.

He looked out the window for a few seconds.

 _Partially inside the elevator, but the doors weren't wide enough to let the ship through._

 _.._.

"Stupid elevator," Galacta complained, standing up and kicking the dashboard. As he did, a loud thud came from the engine of the ship before a dull eruption sounded. Smoke began to drift up from under the hood.

"Agh! Stupid ship!" the lancer exclaimed, swinging his shield back to the open-ended wires sticking out of the hole he created earlier.

His body tensed up as electricity traveled through the metal shield to him for several seconds before he managed to break away from it.

Nebula's electric course had hurt more, but both were still annoying.

Galacta blinked and frowned angrily.

"Stupid computer!" he yelled, kicking the wheel. It snapped to the side with a crack and the warrior could only glare for several minutes.

He began his attempt at fixing it, mentally cursing at anything that had bothered him even in the slightest lately. After a few seconds of fiddling with it, the lancer managed to click the helm back in place, but it still lolled a bit to the left.

...

It's not that obvious anyway, he decided, it's not as if the Bat will even notice. Galacta seemed content with that and made his way out of the ship.

 _Time to check out the damage now..._

Briefly flying over the ship to the front, Galacta landed in the limited space the elevator had to offer and turned an eye to the stuck vehicle. The sides were obviously crushed from the elevator doors and toward the hood, the metal was a bit more than scratched up.

And of course, smoke still rose from the engine under said hood. Knowing better than to open it up in a small, enclosed space, Galacta sighed in frustration and opted to begin and push the ship out.

Although he strained a bit, he placed a foot against the wall behind him and used that as leverage to shove the ship out. After only a few seconds, the spaceship began to move back with a grating strain. Galacta managed to move forward steadily out of the elevator with ship in tow, ignoring the sound of scraping metal.

Once the ship was out and some distance away from the _too-narrow_ door frame of the elevator, Galacta frowned and leaned on the hood of the ship, contemplating. Despite the factory's still working technology, the lights were a bit too dim to begin working on the repairs of the Bat's ship. He also didn't feel like looking for anything to repair the ship with just yet.

Drumming his fingers, Galacta considered his current options. He could either just loaf around until morning, or wander the factory for a while or...

Oh, wait! The Bat also wanted something comfortable to sleep on, didn't he? Now that the ship was here, he could bring something up to him. Although, the warrior couldn't recall anything good enough in the ship off the top of his head.

Walking over to the door of the ship, Galacta scanned over the interior of the vehicle. As he had thought, there was nothing good enough to sleep on. The only thing he could think of was the long seat that rested at the front of the ship. It was extremely comfortable when he had fallen asleep on it on the trip, he hadn't even wanted to wake up. In fact, when he was trying to think back on his life earlier, he had gone to sleep without realizing it too.

Hmm...

Stepping over to the edge of the seat, Galacta grabbed the corner of it with both hands and began to pull. He strained at first- the quality of it was really great- but of course, he was loads stronger. By focusing a bit of energy, he was able to get the cushion to loosen up a bit, but it was still bolted to the vehicle's floor.

Finally, he began to flap his wings to propel the seat upwards at a slant for more leverage. Just a little more strength...!

With a metallic clang, half of the long seat was broken off the ground and the other side caused it to swivel a little. Nonetheless, Galacta let out a triumphant '"Ha!" at the 'victory.'

Shifting to the other side, Galacta made quick work of the already worn down seat's bolts and hauled the cushion out of the ship. It landed with an echoing thud and a metal resonance.

With a satisfied scoff, the lancer hopped off of the ship and down on the plushy seat before bouncing off to the floor. He bushed it off casually and grasped it once again to hoist it up with a grunt. He could already imagine the thanks he would receive from the Bat.

 _Having something to sleep on would be tons better on his back too._

With the seat at hand, Galacta turned toward the elevator and stared at the broken elevator panel for a few seconds before deciding it'd be best to find another way up. The window he entered earlier to put the Bat in the top room was a bit too small to fit the seat. What would be a good alternative...

Stairs, of course. There had to be a door that led to a staircase somewhere. Galacta set down the seat and began his search by flight.

He dashed around, opening doors and peering inside them to check for the way up. Before long, he found them quite a distance down from the elevator, around a corner.

Heading back to the seat, he lifted it a second time and flew over to the door containing the flight of stairs. Landing and walking through, he looked up to see the several floors the place apparently had and frowned in annoyance. Best to start flying, he supposed...

With his sights set upwards, Galacta spread his wings and took off with a strong flap. It would take only a few minutes to get to the top floor at the rate he was going, but it'd be worth it.

* * *

After getting to the uppermost floor, Galacta landed heavily in front of the door. He paused for a few seconds before shuffling over under the weight of the seat and lifted it just enough to hover above the door handle.

Then, because of the sudden force and weight behind it, the handle snapped clean off and fell with a prolonged clutter to the ground. Luckily, he had placed a foot at the door to push it open right before the handle did break, and was able to kick the door open before it got stuck.

 _Hmm. Well, this door can't be closed again. Ah, well._

Kicking the door wide open, Galacta inched his way through the door frame, although his wings strained a bit from the tight squeeze.

"Ow," he grunted simply, ignoring the slight tension for the most part. He pushed past the door and made sure it didn't swing closed, for later.

Thus, the warrior finally started to make the final stretch to where the Bat slept. Despite his strength, he stomped loudly under the weight of the seat. He steadily made his way to the door across the hall from the elevator. Stopping for a second in front of the door, Galacta quickly shifted the weight of the seat to his left arm and quickly pushed down on the handle to open the door before balancing the seat between his arms again.

With the metal grinding as he shuffled in, the noise began to cause the Bat to begin to stir.

 _Well, he was gonna have to wake up to get comfortable on here anyway._

With that in mind, Galacta dropped the seat to the wooden floor with a resounding thud.

At that, Meta Knight drowsily awoke at the noise and blinked to focus in front of him. It was still a dark blur so far, but it was...

"Galacta Knight?" he questioned sleepily.

"Yeah. I got you this to sleep on, Bat." He replied proudly, patting the seat of the ship.

Bleary-eyed, Meta Knight squinted at whatever Galacta presented to him. A kind of sofa that could probably fit two people...A pleasant surprise, although in a place like this, where could he have managed to get it...?

Wait...

"Is that from...my ship?" he asked in near-disbelief. "Did you release the ejector seat properly?

A second passed.

"The _what_?" The warrior blurted.

Meta Knight sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You birdbrain..." he muttered.

" _Birdbrain_?!" Galacta squawked. This was _**not**_ what he had wanted. "Look, do you want the couch or not?!"

The knight sighed. "I may as well. You've brought up the seat already."

Galacta frowned but began to walk over when he saw the Bat try to get up in obvious discomfort. "Come on, Bat." he commanded shortly, offering a hand.

Meta Knight took it without question, and let himself be helped up and led over to the more comfy place. He loathed to think how the ship looked like now, but with the drowsiness the pills had given him, all he cared about now was the fact that the seat would be softer than than floor and easier on his back than the wall.

Galacta took his time in leading the Bat over to the seat. Even if he was slowly shuffling and walking a bit unevenly, he found he didn't mind much since he had accepted the seat without too much noisy complaining like usual.

 _He shouldn't even be complaining in the first place. At least I brought him something..._

Setting him down carefully on a sitting position on the seat, Meta Knight stretched out his good wing and settled a bit more comfortably, opting to lay on his stomach instead of his side to ease up on his wound. His eyes closed in relaxation. "Mgh, thank you again...would you mind passing me my cape?"

Trying his best to ignore the nice sound that was his voice, Galacta shrugged. It seemed like the Bat hadn't even noticed he had it on, so he simply took it off and spread it over him. It felt a bit chilly without now, but, eh. He already had it on for a good while.

"Thank you..." The knight mumbled again sleepily as he began to drift off.

"Ugh, you're welcome, stop saying thanks so much." Galacta grumbled. He stared down at him, eyes narrowed.

...

Meta Knight was just beginning to feel the creeping oddity of dreams when he felt a light brush of his hair. With a slight start, he opened his eyes. Galacta was at the window away from of where he lay.

Oh...merely a sense? Or something...Feeling too sleepy to dwell on it, he shifted to get more snug, with his cape wrapped tighter around himself.


	11. One

_**g**_

* * *

Meta knight woke up and looked around ,tired. "I'm hungry.' he said, getting up to gt somethign to eat. Walking to the elevator, he pressed the button, got on, and got

on, despite the broken ship that currently resided the place.

Getting on the elevator he patiently waited for the doors to close and pressed the button labeled the kitchen floor. He sat on the wreck that Galacta had made and sighed, bored.

He watied for three hours beforee the doors finally closed because AS IF he was going to use the stairs like some sort of pheasant. or poor person either.

Walking out of the doors, when ti finally opened. Meta Knight pressed the button for the elevator doors to open and walked out.

He was finally at the kitchen of the library.

what the...? is that coming from the corner of the kitche? soot, powder and chocolate milk rained down upon him as he squinted at the soot, power and chocolate milk.

trying to get a clear view of what it was. he wrapped his cape around him to protect his precious sandwich. he worked hared

on it dammit! don't judge me. AND after a few miliseconds of that he coughed to clear his throat. "who's or WHAT is there?

he commanded!

"No! neither. Meta knight heard. a strangely familiar voice...

" Its when!"

"What does that mean Meta Knight asked him or her?

Meta Knight...I'M YOU he or she said

"No your not, I am me."

"But from the future!"

"O" Meta Knight said to Meta Knight but from the future.

 **"Okay."**

 **Meta Knight form the future swatted the sandwhich out of Meta Knight from the present's hands "Don't eat that! Trust me!"**

 **"Why?" MEta Knight asked holding it oout of reach from** himself so he wouldn't harm his lovely sandwich, "IT's mine, i made it! I'm hungry."

"You gootaa trust me1 the future relies on itone" Fture knight exclaims! " If not you don't trust me, evrtything grows wrong!"!

Suddenly, more suits, poweder and chosclarte mildk comes from the ceiling, although it somehow misses the amazing sandwhich.

Another Meta Knight From The Futre (tm or r idk) copytright. c.!

he landed expertly, and wrapped his cape around him. a guitar sounded out of thin air nowhere. guatAIR. lol aahah/

"Actually it i s okay if he i ate the sandwich." Not to worry, he comforted.".

"Okay then I will." Meta Knight said proudly, raising the sandwhitch to his mouth for a bitw.

more shot pOWder and chocalte milk fail adn meta Knight sig6hed in exasperation. "WHat is it noew?!"

)""You can't eat it! It will ruin the futrues!" "Don't trust him!"

"ME? " the second or, rather, third meta Knight said. " I know my future and I am right! MEta Knight eat the sandiwhic!"

"No don't do it!" the second and fourth meta kngiht exclaimed in unison.

As more and more meta knight s appreaed, present meta knight stared boredly at his perfect sandwick.

ALRIGHT! one future meta knight scremed. present meta knight startled at the sudden shout.

everybody looked at him anoyed. "what? what is it."

he paused for dramatic effect. "Hury up."! the others shouted.

Present meta knight" he announced.

"yes?" he wondered innocently?

Have you made a decision?

about... he idled.

the sandwhich! our future depends on it. "

right, right. he sighed. well..." he reached for the sandwich on the c0unter. "well, what if i..." he focused on ti. then, for emphasis., he meta knight ripped it in half..."ate half of it?"

thre waes no response and Mwta knigth looked up in vonfushoin/ ?

?

Silents as a tumblrweed tumblred by. "TRIGGERED" it said.

"Wah?" he starred wide eyed.

he

444444444444444444444444444444444444444444p-

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3'p[;23'

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sorry that was my cat lol shes a cute calico her names is so cute 5.

ANYWya! he looked worriyngly at the sandwich halfs. wondring if wat he did worked. wondeirnf if he should, he raise the sandwich to his mouth tentavtively a bite.

"should i even eat it..."

there was NO one there now.

well, future is not set in stone soooo it should be fine...

there was a loud thundering noise and a powerful gust of wind alonged with the flapping of feathers.

"Oh WHAT NOW!?" I just want to eat my stup-

Galacta knight crushed through the vents, up on the ceiling. straining to push against the bars that held it in place.

"BAAAT!" BAAAT, UGH LET ME OUT OF HERE!

"Galaataha?" Meta knight saided with his mouth to eagerl full with his corn on the cob.

"YEAH WHO WLSE IS HER BAT I SAVED YOYOU" With puree strgth alnoe galcta broke the metail railings and made it into the room.

""NOW LOOK WE GOTOA GET OUTTA HERE." HE tolf him.

"Buh I' m hungreh-" he began talkign but Gaalcta shok his hed NO TIM THERE'S AR A DINOAAUR OUTSID

wHat / but those dunt exits. Metak night said in puzzled. he walked over to eth the curtain and peered out the window, a GIANT rows of big teeth stared back. ROAAAAAR IT ROARED and meat Knight quickly closed the shutters and "woha theere WAS a dinoaaur,

"I NOW!" pink knight said, in. exasperation. come on and kets run!

ateM ThGinkv quickly run to the back to the elvator but to tha safetly. Thye boht got on and threww the ship out to the t rex so it could eat that and not tehm.

But suddenly the dragon bursted in the conveniense store and ate galcat nitkht

"HAAHHH BAT I TOLD YOU TO TURN TO RUN111"

but I did run?" meta knight wonfered as the elevtor door shut and he was safe and got on the escalaroter but not jalacta lance.

im, sorry! he called out before the doors shut but he diold not know if jenny heard hijm,

 _ **TO BEE CONTINUES.**_

* * *

 _ **Thanks you for reading i worked hard o n this plz vote in newset poll. I tried getting thiso ut as so n as i could vvvvvv**_

 _ **also there's something about april today?**_


	12. Board and Room

**_Ooh, boy here we go. Okay, um...Sorry? C: *gets hit by a brick* Ow._**

 **Alright, for real, I apologize for not updating sinnnccee April Fool's, which is a really, really unfair chapter to not update after, but I have a reason. And good news/bad news.**

 **The bad news is that I have technically lost interest in this story. Creating and uploading this story on the spot was a baaaaad idea. Super bad. The moments were cute and all, but it was horribly paced, and the dialogue I used protrayed something I didn't want to. I've been putting off writing but it wasn't fun anymore. Figuring things out as I went along wasn't satisfying. My original plan was just a simple open and close story, but it can be so much more than that.**

 ** _However! The good news!_** **I will NOT be abandoning this story! What I AM going to be doing is touching up and editing the previous chapters. This will be a much bigger story then originally planned. I** **t'll be more organized and more detailed as a result. I'll be able to tell the story I want to and do it justice!**

 **There's a lot that's going to happen, but I do believe it'll be well worth the wait. Overall, this will be a vast improvement for the story I want to tell, and hope you guys do too.**

 **I will be uploading the very heavily edited and rewritten first chapter very, very soon. Like tomorrow-most-likely-or-maybe-even-later-on-if-I-finish-it-and-you-guys-really-want-me-to soon.**

 **If you want a copy of the fanfiction and its chapters, either save it now or PM me and I shall send you the chapters. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask me either. My profile has updates so check that out.**

 **Also, as a farewell gift to the old concept story, (even the planned ending I had was different!) I leave the non-April Fool's, unfinished, 'next' chapter for you guys until I finish updating things. I even left the original Author's note...how sad but sweet. :)**

 **(You could tell how much I didn't want to write this story anymore, lol... I absolutely LOVED writing the April First Chapter, though, trust me.)**

 **Also, not sure if there's any fans here of my other, long-neglected story, _Paper Partners_ but I do plan to lightly edit and continue that too. I'm currently working on the next chapter.**

 **First chapter is now updated! Check it out! :D**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _WOW. Okay. I did want to upload much faster than this, but sooo many problems. Like no internet. And still no internet, actually! I have to type this on my phone, which isn't the worst, but is more of a hassle. Anything for MetaGala, though!_**

 _ **Thanks for pointing out that mistake, Kitzykat! My editor did notice a while after I uploaded but I've been forgetting to fix it. It'll be done...pretty soon, lol.**_

 _ **Also, hope you guys enjoyed that April Fool's joke~ It was extremely fun to write. I hope you guys weren't too disappointed to find it wasn't a real chapter and enjoyed it as much as I did!**_

 _ **Now onto the chapter~!**_

* * *

Groggily, Meta Knight woke up from that... strange dream. Sitting up, he looked around the room.

The pills had affected him strangely this time. Perhaps he just needed to eat something, perferably a sweet He sighed. The chance of something worthwhile like that here was slim, so he might as well just wait until they returned to Popstar.

He groaned and stretched his arms. Not too far, arching his back too much would still irritate the wound.

 _At least I slept comfortably,_ Meta Knight thought, but quickly realized that, _I slept comfortably because Galacta Knight ripped the seat from my ship. Ugh..._

Before dwelling too much on that thought, Meta Knight shifted to get ready to stand. He would have to find something filling to eat. He hesitated slightly, a bit off put by the strange deja vu he was having. _Was_ it something he dreamt...?

Luckily, at that moment, Galacta Knight arrived flapping onto the windowsill and stomped down to the floor before straightening up. He glared over at Meta Knight, staring hard for a few seconds.

"Good, you're awake," Galacta said, beginning to walk over with a large platter at hand. It had a silver cover over it. "Hold this."

As he handed the large, round plate over, Meta Knight held out his hands to grab it. He lifted up the dome a crack to peek inside. Instantly, the hot, delicious smell of a mix of different foods hit him. Surprised, he took the cover off and peered down at the variations of food- a large roasted fowl, several sandwiches, fruits, corn, mashed potatoes, bread rolls- so many things! - but he couldn't help but wonder one thing.

"Very great, but where did you-?" He began to question, but he stopped when Galacta Knight held up a hand to cut him off.

"Just hold it."

Meta Knight did so, a bit too distracted with his grumbling stomach and the delicious looking food to complain _too_ much. Galacta walked past him as he contined to stare down at the food.

The warrior walked to the far end of the room, looking around. There had to be something that can be used as a table. Seeing several crates, he walked to them and looked over the bunch.

 _Splintery. Really old. Why did that look sunken in-?_

Then, he saw the longest one there. Making his way over to it, Galacta examined it closely and gave a solid pat on the wooden box with a _thunk._

"Great," he nodded with a mumble, turning his head. _Now is there something like a tablecloth?_

Noticing a pile of white cloth on top of a flat machine a few yards away.

He then noticed a pile of cloth a few yards away. _There we go,_ he thought, walking over to it.

Galacta grabbed a handful and lifted it high, separating one from the rest. Spreading it out, he gauged the size of it. He guessed it was about the size of the crate he chose.

The warrior began to shake out the fabric but the dust gathered on it started to spread, quickly surrounding him.

With several coughs, Galacta stopped moving the cloth, and frowned at it.

 _We'll eat without a tablecloth then._

He bundled up the white fabric and tossed it somewhere further into the room. Turning back to the crate, he tilted it to match the direction he was going in and started to push it toward where Meta Knight sat impatiently with the food.

The sound of the sliding wood on the floor made said knight turn to Galacta's direction when he was near enough. He didn't say a word until the long crate was pushed straight in front of him, long-ways, like a table.

Looking at the old box in slight distaste, he brushed off a small area in front of him before setting down the platter. He was so used to actual clean surfaces back on the Halberd, but he was hungry at the moment. Cleanliness would have to wait.

Galacta Knight sat on the other side of the crate, in front of him. As soon as he put the dish down, the pink fighter grabbed the handle and threw it behind himself carelessly with a loud, lingering clatter.

"I'm starving," Galacta declared, taking off his mask and letting it fall as he began to dig into the feast.

Meta Knight blinked as the warrior across from him immediately grabbed a sandwich and ate it in two bites. Then, as he swallowed that, he tore off a leg from the roasted bird.

"...Was there nothing to drink, wherever you obtained this from?"

"No," Galacta answered briefly before biting into the meat.

Oh. Oh well, he supposed. He could do without that until next time...

"Anything...sweet?" Meta Knight tried.

Looking up, Galacta seemed to glare at him.

It probably was a bad idea to mention, considering the parfait incident and all, even if it was the other's fault entirely.

"Never mind," Meta Knight said quickly, gazing at the food.

He was still hungry after all, so the sugar could wait. Besides, it wasn't as if anything could come close to subsituting his own perfected dessert.

Grabbing a piece of corn, the knight bit into the vegetable and quickly finished it off. The sweet taste of it mixed well with the butter and pepper for the seasoning.

 _Nova, he had been so hungry._

Picking up a sandwich next, he ate more carelessly, only paying slight attention to the flavor. After polishing off that sandwich and a second one, Meta Knight picked up an apple and took a bite. It was only then he looked up to the other Star Warrior in front of him, who was just as focused on his food.

Oh. Should he try to make conversation? He could obviously still manage to eat, but the hunger pangs weren't so bad now. Though at the fast rate Galacta Knight ate at, Meta Knight doubted he would even pay mind.

The bluenette munched on the apple absent mindedly, still staring at the man across from him.

Sensing the gaze, Galacta looked up again. "What?" He asked after swallowing the second roll he had. "Have something to say?"

"Not in particular," Meta Knight responded after a brief pause in surprise. He set down the apple and looked down at the food. Glancing at the mashed potatoes, he added, "Just...were there also no spoons?"

Galacta stared at him for a few seconds. "You don't need spoons. Use the rolls."

As if to show what he meant, Galacta grabbed another piece of bread, scooped up a hefty portion of the potatoes and stuffed it in his mouth. "See?" He said, muffled.

Meta Knight watched as the side dish was nearly depleted easily. "Hey, save me some."

"There's plenty left." Galacta gestured to the entire dish.

"Of other foods, but not the potatoes..."

The warrior looked over the remains of it. "Bat, just eat!"

"Hmn. I will. But you ate all the mashed potatoes."

"Well," Galacta Knight let out a short laugh, "I do deserve more of it. I _was_ the one who got all of this food, after all. You slept in."

Meta Knight's eyes flashed red briefly, which caught Galacta's attention. "Only because of the painkillers."

"Yes. You got injured by that robot."

"Because you abandoned me to battle it alone." Meta Knight said stiffly.

"I left you," Galacta seethed, "because you brought up the _crystal_!"

"You were not cooperating," Meta Knight reminded him.

The horned warrior gripped the edges of the crate in frustration. "If you weren't so demanding and full of yourself..." he trailed off in that sentence, rage in his eyes.

Taking note of Galacta Knight's clutch of the makeshift table, Meta Knight returned his eyes to meet his. Despite the situation he would not back down. "I am trying to help you stay out of your prison. If you would just listen to what I say without causing problems everywhere you go-"

Galacta bolted up and grabbed Meta Knight's shirt, pulling him close. "Stop fucking looking down on me. I'm not a child." He snarled.

In response, Meta Knight firmly laid a hand on top Galacta's. "Let go of me." He ordered. "I will fight you if I have to."

There was a pause, and Meta Knight's hard stare bore into Galacta's eyes, which were just as focused and intent as his were. They brightened up dangerously at the prospect of a fight, no doubt itching for another battle since his previous loss.

Galacta Knight narrowed his eyes at him then. No matter how much he wanted to get his hands on him, there were no blades, or lances, nor a proper battlefield. He only had his shield. It'd be a waste to fight like this.

 _Besides, I can't fight an injured Bat._

"...I'm not going to fight you. There's nothing around, and you're too weak."

Meta Knight's hand tightened on his.


	13. Board and Room Part 2

_**Heeellloooo**._

 ** _I've decided yet another thing I'm gonna do. I'm just going to tweak chapter details here and there rather than just rewrite the entire thing... It's probably for the best anyway since I have been told it'll just prolong the fanfiction getting updated and there's so much I want to write out. So here we are~ a few months later and inspired once more! I'm going to try being more consistent with my schedule. I've got a plan! ...But still, please don't be impatient with my updates. I love writing with a passion, and I want to bring my best._**

 ** _And to ImSpiderman: Yep! And I still plan to hold to not abandoning this story! I love it too much!_**

 ** _ **Nope not at aaaalll...! *shifty** eyes* And same thing. It was just fun to be outrageous. And glad you enjoy both! I'll give you and everyone a heads up when I do update/tweak a chapter._**

 ** _He is very high maintenance, yes. My editor was very glad someone noticed how difficult he was being too! They might have a difficult time forgiving each other for anything._**

 ** _And now here's the second half of the chapter. :) *waves flag*_**

* * *

Looking at the other winged warrior with a dangerously low glare for a few seconds, Meta Knight gathered his angered thoughts only briefly.

"I am not weak," he started, tone completely even, though his venomous rage bubbled beneath. "I've gone through my share of ordeals, which includes beating you soundly."

"So what?" Galacta spat back. "If we fight now I'd crush you. But that's not how I plan to win my title back."

"..." Meta Knight returned his intense stare to the warrior.

 _You'll never win it back. I'll keep the title as my own until I die._

Those words almost left his mouth before he considered the worth of their outcome.

The Knight held his tongue and instead shoved Galacta's arm away from him, also breaking apart his grip on his shirt as he stepped back to sit down.

Galacta blinked as he did, staring as red eyes slowly turned to an orange shade.

"Let's drop the subject." The Bat suggested shortly, staring down at the tray without losing a trace of anger in either voice or look.

"Fuck. That." The pink haired warrior said. "Say what the fuck you were thinking."

Without missing a beat, Meta Knight gave his response. "I think it wise that we sweep our problems with each other under the rug and continue on with the mission."

"So that you can keep weaseling away after pissing me off?! How are we supposed to continue on with what-the-fuck-ever if we keep fighting every five minutes?!"

Meta Knight stared past the food. There was a point there, he begrudgingly admitted. All the hindrances so far was a result of Galacta's... their abrasiveness toward the other. But what could be said that can make all of their dislike of the other disappear?

"So? Are you gonna tell me what you wanted to or what?" Galacta continued to demand seriously, staring down at him.

Meta Knight looked up now, eyes unknowingly flashing a green briefly, which the pink warrior noted.

"Our fights are taxing. My time is valuable since I need to aid Popstar, and you keep wasting it. You complain about every little thing and don't appreciate what I'm trying to do for you. You're somehow unable or refusing to see the bigger picture and care only about yourself."

Miraculously, Galacta stayed quiet throughout Meta Knight's spiel. However, as soon as he finished, the horned warrior began.

"I waste your time? You keep lecturing about nothing and whining over sugar. And you're one to talk about complaining and being ungrateful! I saved you, bandaged you up, made sure you were comfortable, brought you food... and you still refuse to give anything more than a drug-induced thanks for everything! I thought you claimed to be noble, and you're being anything but. Keeping things to yourself is stupid too."

"All of those things are to be expected since we're on a mission together as allies," Meta Knight began after a brief pause, "Though, perhaps I haven't been the most fair... But I have no need to have no filter for my thoughts. You have no need to know all I'm thinking."

"If we're 'allies,' as you called it, doesn't there need to be more trust?"

Meta Knight gave a longer pause than before. "I'll admit to that. But how can I not be wary when at every corner you want to battle? We've fought to the death twice. You've attacked me on my own ship. You've threatened one of my workers, and I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate to do so again. You left me on my own. You seem to be so obsessed with reobtaining your title, that you see me as little more than an obstacle rather than someone who's given you a chance to escape that prison."

The winged warrior stared coldly now.

 _ **Obsession. Your title. Prison.**_

"I was locked away for that title. It was all I had. And you just wished for it."

"I wished to fight for the title, and I earned it."

"And you don't care about it! We were fighting for it a second time until we got interrupted, and since then you've been ignoring it like everything else that's bothering you!"

"There is a time and place for everything. The title shouldn't be a main focus here."

"Don't act like you're the rational one here. Just two minutes ago you were raring to fight without even a weapon at your side."

The harsh reminder that Galaxia was still somewhere out there made Meta Knight clench his fist.

Galacta continued. "And you challenged me in the first place. How is that fucking rational.

"And the title is everything to me. It was my entire life. What I obsessed for before and after I was sealed in the crystal. What I went mad for. And you dare say it isn't the main focus?"

Silence hung between them as Meta Knight mused on his words carefully.

"This mission is supposed to be about Popstar. The title...should be pushed back." he paused, only hesitating briefly, "For now, at least."

The implication of his words resonated loudly.

Galacta stared back at him for several seconds.

 _A promised fight..._

As if sensing his thoughts, Meta Knight gave a slight nod to confirm the proposal.

The white-winged star warrior kept the intent stare before turning his gaze downward.

 _A thrilling rematch...!_

Galacta narrowed his eyes, a spike of eager ferocity arising.

 _And he can't be lying. He's too honorable._

Looking back up to reconnect the stare, Meta Knight's eyes remained as serious.

 _But at the same time..._

 ** _Get your title back._**

He couldn't think of what to say to seal the promise of another brutal, long-lasting battle in the near future between the two of them, nor could even express how he felt.

Galacta took a step back and knelt to sit down at the 'table' once more as well.

A strange feeling clung onto the both of them for several minutes.

After this mission, after Galacta was truly free from his prison and Meta Knight improved Popstar's defenses from what information he learned, a battle would be held.

With that in mind, Galacta absentmindedly grabbed the nearest food item near him and began to eat again.

Meta Knight shifted on the seat and leaned over to grab a roll, picked up some mashed potatoes with it, and took a bite.

"It's cold." he said a bit stiffly.

Galacta blinked as he broke out of his thoughts. Was he really...?

Whether it was intended to be a joke or not, Galacta laughed.


	14. Garb---d Mess-ge

I have seen it...

That rumored realm. The one nobody returns from.

I drew close, and stared for months, considering if I should go forth and join one of the many others who leave behind their art.

But I _dragged_ myself out of there and back here to continue!

So the next (real!) Chapter of Ships and Computers! Don't let the upload date Fool you! Haaaa... ah.

* * *

Meta Knight rolled his shoulders, stretching as best he could without bothering the still healing wound too much. Reclaiming Galaxia was his priority now, and then to search for whatever technology he could get his hands on in this factory.

Grabbing for his mask, he began to bring it to his face but stopped and flipped to see the front.

He frowned. As he feared. It was dirtied. And, he looked closer, was that a dent?!

 _Of everything that could happen..._

Meta Knight decided against using his gloves to wipe it clean and brought up a tiny corner of his cape. He insistently rubbed at the metal to clean it as best he could, but considering the circumstances...

Luckily, what he thought was the dent was just a darker spot of soot than the rest. With a sigh of not-too-much relief ( _because the mask was still not as polished as it was before,_ he thought with ire), the knight placed his mask upon his face and clasped the strap.

Letting his cape fall around him as he stood slowly, Meta Knight groaned a bit as he was finally on his feet.

It hasn't been long since he got injured, but it's been much too long since he's last moved around. And though it still stung, it was better than just sitting around. He took out the bottle of the pills and took only one to dull the pain.

 _When I reobtain Galaxia once more, she can heal my wound completely._

Meta Knight stepped away from the seat to the entrance of the room, intent on accomplishing something. After yesterday's... eventful meal, he had been able to do nothing but wander in his own thoughts and take another dose of the painkillers to fall asleep.

After a few minutes of roaming the hall, he came across an elevator with a strange sense of déjà vu. He pressed the button not expecting much from a worn down and abandoned factory and was proven right. With unease lifting from him for whatever reason as he walked away from the elevator, he sought out the door to the staircase quickly.

Now, standing at the head of the stairs and looking down at the flight before him filled him with determination.

He begun the descent down, content with the simple action of moving.

* * *

 _And moving..._

* * *

 _And moving..._

* * *

 _Considering that he was in what seemed like an attic to the grand factory, it made sense for there to be so much stairs, of course..._

* * *

 _Descending..._

* * *

 _Trekking..._

* * *

 _Moving..._

* * *

 _Now I wish that the elevator worked..._

* * *

 _Sigh._

* * *

 _Moving..._

* * *

 _I wonder how Popstar is. Hopefully another attack hasn't gone down._

* * *

 _And my Halberd. I trust Sailor to oversee the ship but would she be willing to lead an attack? Maybe I'll teach her the guns on it one day._

* * *

 _Hmm._

* * *

 _I hope all this walking won't make my wound worse._

 _I doubt there will be another attack. Even if we're weak at the moment, Popstar is a peaceful planet. We keep to ourselves, we have no enemies..._

* * *

 _Is my injury fine? ...I think it is._

* * *

 _I wonder how I'll-_

He stumbled a bit upon hitting level ground and still trying to walk down stairs. He blinked in surprise.

 _Oh, I'm at the bottom now._

Wrapping his cape around him, he exited the room to head towards the lobby of the factory.

Galacta was there, still insistently working on the ship. Meta Knight stayed at the edge of the room, watching silently for a few moments. From afar, the ship looked...pretty bad, but not as horrible as he imagined.

Though, he recalled the broken seat and gave an inaudible sigh.

His eyes traveled from the ship to the warrior working on the engine. The pink haired man seemed focused on what was going on under the hood.

...It was nice seeing him so intent on helping. Perhaps they could still get off this planet before long.

"Galacta Knight." Meta Knight called out, observing the sudden cut of attention from the ship to his direction.

Galacta caught sight of him, and wondered when he got there, startled to have heard his voice suddenly. So quiet. "What?"

"I wanted to see how far you got with the ship," Meta Knight responded.

Galacta looked back down at the ship thoughtfully. "Well, I changed the engine."

"What? But that's-with how?" Meta Knight was completely baffled, and made his way to where Galacta stood in front of the ship. He stopped next to him and peered at the mechanics in the ship. "What did you-?"

He paused. Everything seemed to be the same model as before. _Was there an identical one lying around here...?_

Galacta tried his best to hold back from laughing, but only managed a few seconds. "I was joking. What do you think I could have replaced it with?"

Meta Knight blinked, looking at him. "Factory parts...?" He trailed off, and reddened. "I mean, well, that's what I was wondering!"

The pink haired warrior's laughter trailed to chuckles before he regained his composure.

"...Anyway, I really did work on the engine some. It... started to smoke when I drove it here but it should work better now."

"I'm glad." Meta Knight said, "I plan to go for my sword. I don't like being unarmed for long."

Galacta's right hand clenched into a tight fist. "...Understandable."

 _Oh._ Meta Knight cleared his throat. "Would you like to come along with me? We can use the ship."

"A test run would be good." The warrior agreed with a nod, reaching to slam the hood of the ship down. "I'll go with you."

"That's great. Let's go." Meta Knight replied shortly, turning to the ship itself. He took a few steps to the driver's side and looked in through the window.

"You can drive us." He announced, and without skipping a beat, walked around the ship to the passenger's side.

The horned warrior narrowed his eyes in confusion, still complying and making his way to where Meta Knight stood a few seconds ago. Opening the door reminded him why the Bat chose that.

"Uh...! Hey!" He managed to get out after the knight had already sat back comfortably in the half-seat remaining in the ship. "How come you get that side!"

"I need the comfort." Meta Knight replied, eyes closed and his visor pitch-black.

"Then where am I going to sit!"

"You broke it so I sit here."

"That doesn't answer my question!"

Meta Knight stayed silent, smiling slightly underneath his mask.

Galacta stared at the size of the ship. He could probably stand... but that would look stupid...!

"...!" Spreading his wings wide, he took off to the large doors and flew through and up out of sight.

Meta Knight, surprised at the action, blinked and followed the rapid movement until Galacta was out of sight.

Quite baffled, he silently turned back to the front and sat patiently in his passenger seat. He looked around idly, not really knowing what to do with himself.

The Knight looked up to the rear view mirror, staring for any sign of Galacta's return before catching sight of himself.

"Oh..." He had made a good effort on the mask, but he hadn't had a chance to look in a mirror until now, and he felt absolutely downcast...

His hair was completely ruined. Singed with heat in some parts, fully mussed up, wild.

The battle with the robot...the missiles, the explosion, how couldn't he have realized!

Why hadn't Galacta said anything?

He had a grimace upon his hidden face as he raised his hands to try smoothing it out as best he could.

This entire process was just so much trouble! He never should have planned this mission to Shiver Star.

As he focused on styling his hair as best he could in the mirror, Galacta returned.

Well, first the couch dropped into sight heavily right in front of the entrance, miraculously not breaking. Galacta landed behind it urgently and lifted it up with a grunt, impatiently heading toward the ship with it.

Upon reaching it, he begun to shove the seat in carelessly.

Meta Knight's attention broke from the mirror and his hair when the edge of the seat slid up on his side.

"Hey, careful with that." he said, pushing it away from him, "Make sure it's lined up properly."

"Yeah, okay," Galacta muttered pulling back roughly. "Hold it still."

Meta Knight sighed and twisted in his seat to grab the edges and aligned it with his part of the seat. "Wait, what are you going to do?"

The horned warrior didn't answer and instead leaned down to check the underside of the seat.

"Galacta, how are you going to put it back in?"

Reaching to grab the metal fixtures, the horned warrior shifted it to straighten up the seat and the floor.

"You already yanked it clean off once, will it even work anymore? Galacta. At least use the...!" Meta Knight groaned, and muttered under his breath. "Never mind. You already broke the ejector seat, so what use is there in telling you?"

Galacta Knight began heating up the metal with energy from his hands, focusing on just reaching the melting point as the Bat rambled on in the background about the ship, the condition of it and how much he wanted to fix it.

"...But it doesn't matter what I say now, you aren't even listening! If I had to choose a food to abolish forever, it would easily be pie!"

Galacta blinked as the metal began to mold together and the strangely specific statement registered. "I am listening. I'm just not answering you."

"...Oh."

"Forget what I just said then." Meta Knight said sheepishly.

"Nope," he replied nonchalantly, eyeing the joined metals. He shook them roughly to ensure they would hold. Satisfied with the results, he scooted back from under the seat and clambered into the ship.

"Pie is delicious," he stated as he plopped into the newly re-added cushion and shut the door.

"No." was all Meta Knight said in a very angry, passionate tone. There would be absolutely no changing his mind.

With a final short laugh, Galacta turned the key in the ignition and the engine started beautifully.

Well, as beautifully as an old, crash-landed, and abused ship taken for a joyride and crashed into an elevator then fixed by a warrior with little experience with ships can sound.

"It's louder than before," Meta Knight commented a few seconds before the grating sound lowered to only a constant hum.

Galacta shrugged despite that. "At least it works."

Meta Knight nodded lightly, a bit concerned at the change, but nonetheless content about the ship having a chance to survive. Galacta took that as his cue to start driving forward to turn the ship toward the entrance in a sharp u-turn.

" Meta Knight commented.

Stepping on the pedal, they sped out the factory.

* * *

"Do you recall how far the lobster was?" Meta Knight asked Galacta as they traveled along the snowy fields.

"..Lobster?" Galacta echoed.

"Er," Meta Knight blinked. He had noted before that the robot looked vaguely like his Heavy Lobster, but had forgotten that Galacta hasn't seen the robot or even knew his thoughts. "I meant the robot. Those pills, you know." He excused himself vaguely.

"Oh," Galacta replied but still sounded confused. "Uhhh, it was a bit of a flight when you were hurt and it took hours when I drove the ship back while it was busted and slow."

"Hours..." Meta Knight muttered in surprise. He actually had the patience? "You really did fix up the ship then."

"What else did you think I was doing?"

"...I don't know...?" Meta Knight replied, half-truthfully. While he didn't really wonder much of what Galacta was doing while he was cooped up, previous interactions with him wouldn't amount to much favorable scenarios. "Throwing daggers, maybe?"

"I'll still throw daggers at you any day!" Galacta said defiantly, though honestly, that was a little embarrassing now, for some reason. Good thing he was keeping his eyes forward.

"As long as you didn't throw daggers at the ship to fix it." Meta Knight joked lightly.

"I only had the one." Galacta sighed wistfully.

 _Oh, that's right. He actually does have one. No doubt stolen from my Armory. Should I let it be? He did manage to save me with it, and it's peaceful now._ _Although, would he steal something more if I don't tell him now?_

The knight gave a short sigh. "Just please don't take anything from my Armory again."

"A bunch of weapons you won't use? Why?"

Meta Knight blinked. "It's a...collection," he answered thoughtfully. "A way to appreciate the variety of tools to combat with."

The feather-winged warrior thought of the dagger he had plucked from the displays. It _was_ a nice looking one admittedly, with its engravings.

 _Fancy, yet still able to withstand my attack._

"I won't take another weapon," Galacta told him, "But as you said, it's difficult being unarmed. I can't have just a shield."

 _I can't argue with that._

 _"_ I'll let you be with that dagger, then... I know it isn't a sword, or lance, but at least you can fight armed."

Although they both knew chances were low they'd have to fight something else... it was nice.

"... I'll, return it to you when I get my lance back." Galacta mustered after a few seconds. "I don't want to lessen your collection."

"I'll appreciate that very much." Meta Knight replied.

There was a comfortable silence for several minutes, the white scenery passing them by in a rush. It was nice to look at while it was calm and he wasn't caught in the middle of a blizzard. Meta Knight wondered how frequent snowstorms were on this planet. A few evergreen plants here and there showcased the planet's ability to still maintain life.

Meta Knight looked away from the window and to Galacta to suggest just that after reaching Galaxia when an unintelligible message came from the radio on the ship.

"Oh, yeah." Galacta spoke up over the scratchy transmission. "It's done that twice already when I was around. What is it?"

"The radio..." Meta Knight leaned forward in deep thought. _Only Sailor would contact us, and she knows to contact me only for important instances._ "It's for communication."

"And you understand that?" Galacta asked curiously. A secret code...!

"No, it's not supposed to sound like this." Meta Knight eyed the device, hand on it.

"Oh." He replied flatly. "Not very efficient then, huh."

"Well the ship did crash." Meta Knight replied absently as he fiddled with the machine. Feeling for the wires, he gently grabbed ahold of them and followed them to where they connected. He pressed each one into its socket firmly and tried the frequency now.

 _"... ...ight. This...Sailor Wa... ...Dee. A few... ... have... from the... ... unit is called.._ _... They ...refuse to tell... but you haven't ans... ...a while, so I gave up_ _... ... ... their way... ...I don't know how... ... reach you two ...ship is extremely ... .._

 _...are you ... Meta Kn...t...? I'm...worried... ..."_

There were a few more seconds of static, before it stopped.

Galacta looked over at Meta Knight, and blinked at the green eyes he had.

The blunette was frowning at the garbled mess of a transmisson. It was too unclear to understand. Had there been an invasion on the Halberd? Sailor gave up? The ship was extremely what?! He didn't want to assume the worst with a message he couldn't understand thoroughly, but...!

He felt a hand on his shoulder, which then guided him to lean back in his seat. The pangs of pain at his back that he hadn't even noticed slowly ebbed away.

"We'll get the sword, then double down on fixing the ship." Galacta stated.

"Sailor, my Crew, my Halberd...! If only I could understand it!" Meta Knight replied, thinking about trying to contact her. The radio could barely handle an incoming transmission. He'd have to check the outside panel.

"One thing at a time. We're no help to them right now and you _can't_ understand it so why bother worrying?"

"..." Meta Knight stewed in his own thoughts, still concerned. The horned warrior made a bit of a point, but he didn't personally know the Halberd's Crew. He didn't care so much about them, which was why he was so lax about the alarming message.

After a few more minutes of a tense silence, Galacta noticed the familiar shape of the destroyed robot. "We're close now, see?" He pointed out the silhouette.

"Oh, great." Meta Knight sounded just a bit eager. He was torn between being in the dark about his ship, and having Galaxia in his hands again.

Galacta couldn't help but roll his eyes. From stressing out so much on one thing, the Bat couldn't enjoy every victory he had. The Star Warrior was about to say something about this, but they had finally arrived.

Stopping the ship on the side that the sword resided on, he switched off the engine. "Oh. I hope it can turn on again."

Meta Knight didn't even want to know if he was joking this time or not. He opened the door and turned in his seat to face the outside. It was freezing already. The knight was regretting everything.

 _It doesn't matter._

Wrapping his cape around himself, the masked soldier braced himself for a few seconds and exited the ship, standing just off of his seat.

Galacta walked around the corner of the vehicle. "...Did you just barely stand up?"

"No," Meta Knight answered. "I was just waiting for you. I'm unarmed and injured. If something attacked suddenly like before..." He cleared his throat and scanned the area in front of him for his blade.

A golden glint caught his eye, and his eyes brightened up. There she was...!

Making his way to where she lay quickly but still with an eye out, he realized that there was what seemed to be melted puddles of snow for some reason...?

"Galaxia?"

Her gem glowed at his voice and he took that as a sign that she was herself. Stepping toward her while doing his best to avoid the slush on the ground from getting on his sabatons and cape, he reached her at long last.

He grabbed the hilt of her sword and lifted her, swinging her once to fling water off of her metal. He pointed her to the sky in triumph. The sentient blade emitted a white flash of light in delight at reuniting, and it reflected the droplets still in the air. A dazzling, spectacular scene.

Galacta stared from the ship.

 _("My Wielder! I feared the worst!")_

 _I can say the same._

 _("The last I saw of you was defenseless in front of the mechanic assailant. I was merely thrown out of your grasp, Sir Meta Knight!")_

The Knight laughed sheepishly, lowering the blade now and sheathing her. He turned to the ship, taking his time on doing so, stepping over the slush where he could.

 _I can still be concerned for you. What if you rusted?_

 _("I would never!")_

 _Even with all this water you're sunk in?_

 _("...")_

 _Why were you surrounded by melted snow, by the way...?_

 _("Him.")_ Galaxia said venomously, prompting Meta Knight to turn to Galacta.

"He melted the snow around you?" He asked aloud in confusion, pausing where he stood. He wasn't far from the ship.

The pink haired warrior blinked to Meta Knight's voice.

 _("No. He covered me in snow! I melted it in anger. He tried to hold me.")_

Meta Knight looked from Galaxia to Galacta. "Did you, uh... try and hold my sword?"

"What? Yeah! I saw it light up and I was gonna bring it to you! But when I picked it up, it shocked me!"

"..You picked her up?"

"But then it _shocked_ me!" Galacta reminded. "What do you have in it?"

 _(I was led to believe he was you...! That's the only reason why he held me at all.)_ Galaxia defended herself.

"You mistook him for me?"

( _"He had your cape and no light shone from the sky.")_ She explained vehemently.

"What?" Galacta asked. "Who did I mistake?"

"No- I, my Sword did..."

 _("I did not mistake him! It was only brief!")_

"But if you did let him..." Meta Knight shook his head lightly. "Wait. But then why did you melt the snow around you?"

 _("He covered me. In. Snow.")_

 _You covered Galacta in snow?_

 _..._

 _Oh, no, wait a minute_

"You covered my blade in snow, Galacta?"

"The stupid thing shocked me! And how did you know anyway! Do you have a camera there...!?" A camera...!

"No, she told me..." Meta Knight was just a bit disoriented with the thought-speak and piecing together the story here.

 _The very strange story... Galaxia saw Galacta Knight with my cape and signalled to him. Galacta noticed her and picked her up to return her to me and them was shocked. Then he covered her with snow...?_

 _Do we look similar to you, Galaxia...?_

That was thought in amusement, and Meta Knight started chuckling at the absurdity of his blade and current ally yelling at each other over that misunderstanding. If only he weren't the middle-man _being_ yelled at!

He continued laughing a bit as Galaxia stewed a bit in embarrasment and Galacta flustered a bit under his mask. Although, he held his stare.

 _Pink eyes, now...,_ he noted.

"Well," Meta Knight started after settling down, "I assure you both that it won't happen again. Don't lure him in, Galaxia, and just ignore my blade, and Galacta Knight, if you don't touch her, she won't shock you."

"Yeah?" Galacta grumbled in annoyance, "I'll send a dimensional rift her way next time."

 _("Tell him that I'll-!)_

"Not necessary, you two." Meta Knight cut in calmly.

 _And before we go, Galaxia... Would you mind healing my wound?_

 _("A wound...?") A quick look into his memories. ("Oh, my Wielder... I certainly can. That should have been the first thing you told.")_

 _We all get caught up on...things._

Galaxia's power started at his hand and traveled up his arm, healing a few scrapes along the way that he didn't know he had obtained. It then traveled over his shoulder, making him feel more relaxed, and finally to his main injury.

It soothed, closed, and healed the wound -lovingly, in a sense- before it traveled over the rest of his body for any other minor cuts or bruises. After doing so, the healing effect Galaxia granted bubbled away, job accomplished.

Though the slight wind of the magic made his cape and hair billow slightly, it felt comforting and warm, especially in this weather.

Galacta tilted his head slightly at the random wind. He waved a hand. He didn't feel anything.

"What happened?"

Meta Knight stretched out his arms and let his wings spread wide in relief. "I'm better now." He explained happily.

 _Thank you, Galaxia._

 _("You're very welcome, my Wielder. I hope you keep a strong grasp on me.")_

Meta Knight nodded slightly. He'll be more careful from now on.. It could have easily ended up much worse. Instead of merely a deep cut, he could have been impa-!

"So, are we heading back or what?"

The blunette blinked and nodded again, more obviously this time. "Yes, let's." He agreed, before beginning to walk around the ship.

"Hey!" Galacta flared his wings to jump in the air and land in front of the driver's door. "Nope!" He exclaimed holding his open palm out to stop the Bat. "I'm driving both ways, get back to the passenger side."

"But I'm-"

"Nah."

"Galacta, I'm-!"

"Uh-uh."

"I'm better now..!"

"Nope."

"I was only letting you drive because-!"

"I don't care."

"-Because I was hurt-!"

"You snooze you lose."

"I was not sleeping!"

"You're on drugs."

"Only one pill!"

"You called the robot a lobster and you were talking with your sword."

"Ah, but that was just- I only-!"

"Too late!' Galacta took a step back and grabbed the handle.

"This is still my ship, Galacta!"

"I fixed it so I'm driving!" He pulled the door wide open.

"You broke most of it!"

"Still fixed it!" He said, diving in.

Meta Knight sighed as the door slammed shut, though he couldn't really be annoyed. Maybe because he was just healed. It was... very nice right now. The air was still, he felt a lot better, and things were... kind of being accomplished right now.

The engine started near flawlessly and a muffled "Come on, Baaaat!" Was called out to him. With an uplifting feeling, he jumped up and soared over the ship with a small twirl before landing with a plompf in the snow. He entered the vehicle and sat, more comfortable than ever.

"Fine, but I'm driving us back to Popstar." He told him, leaning in a bit.

Galacta stared at him, grinning but saying nothing, silently accepting that challenge. He also noticed the pink hue again. What does it mean?

Starting to drive along the way to the factory again, Galacta meant to ask but started to think about something else.

"Hey. Are you hungry?"

"Hmm? Oh... I am. We haven't eaten yet, have we?"

"No." He replied, turning the wheel suddenly to the right and changing their direction. "C'mon."

"What?" Meta Knight held on tightly, not like he had a choice. "Where could we be going here?"

"You'll see."

* * *

And...happy late Birthday, Meta Knight. ^-^


End file.
